Forever Yours
by sunkisedsurfer
Summary: Haley James cause major drama between Lucas and Nathan. Brooke and Peyton are suddenly second best when the Scott brothers become attracted to Haley. What will become of the possible couples? Who will she choose? R&R!
1. Sugar, We're Going Down

**Disclaimer: **Unfortuantely, I do not own One Tree Hill, Lucas, Haley, Nathan, Peyton, Brooke, or any one else mentioned in this story that is relates to the show. One Tree Hill belongs to the WB.

* * *

Just a day, just an ordinary day in Tree Hill, North Carolina. Lucas Scott stood, admiring the way the sun cast its bright rays down onto the torrid waves of the ocean during sunset. He jerked his head up when he heard a car toot its horn. It was a girl with a friendly face, his best friend's face, Haley James. She drove he father's beat up "car" up to his watch point.

"You getting in or what, Scott? I need to be at your mom's café in 20 minutes and you _know_ how she gets if I'm even 2 seconds late."

Lucas smiled as his friend continued ranting and raving about his mom, Karen. She was a tom-boyishly-beautiful brunette, and if he hadn't been her friend for so long, he could see him self having a crush on her. Everyone at Tree Hill High already thought they were dating in secret, and he sometimes wondered if that would be such a bad idea.

Haley was a bad driver. Period. She knew this, but refused to admit it. Exactly 19 traffic tickets, still unpaid, sat in her glove compartment. Lucas and Haley had been best friends since they were five years old, and inseparable since October 9th, in the 7th grade. That was the day that Lucas had told Haley about Nathan Scott, his half-brother. They shared the same father and a love basketball, but that was where the similarities ended.

The car slowed to a stop at a red light. Haley glanced over at Lucas, who was looking through her collection of nine CDs consisting of "oldies but goodies", according to Haley. He really _was_ cute, in a boyish, clean way. His blond hair was always nice and neat; the way Haley told him to keep it. And his eyes, his **eyes!** That was his one feature that always seemed to keep he mesmerized. The trouble was, those eyes belonged to the most popular girl in Tree Hill, Brooke Davis.

Haley was yanked back into reality. Yes, Lucas and Brooke were dating, to the dismay of Haley, the joy of his mother. Brooke had a bad reputation that was full of rumors of her going too far with too many guys. Brooke had most likely been with the entire 18 and under Tree Hill guy population.

"Hales, the light has been green for a couple minutes now, are you going to drive or sit there all day?"

Lucas had interrupted her thinking. She knew that she had to keep driving to Karen's Café, where her job and Lucas's mom resided. Driving with Lucas everyday to the café was possibly Haley's most favorite part of the day. It was the only time that they could really be _alone. _How she enjoyed being alone with him. She could pretend that he was hers, even if he wasn't.

Haley pulled into the parking lot, trying to find the best spot. She knew that she wasn't supposed to get the front and center spot, "reserved for customers", as Karen put it. So what? She drove into the spot, parked and looked into her rear-view mirror. Make-up? None. Lip-gloss? Sort of. She pulled out her strawberry-kiwi, $.99 lip-gloss and applied it.

"Better. Now you look like a waitress," she told herself.

"You're crazy, Hales. Face it. I think we should get you a psycho therapist." Lucas opened his door and raced over to hers and opened it for her.

"Madame? Your customers await you." He held out his hand in mock respect.

She lifted one eyebrow, arched perfectly, and laughed. "Whatever you say, charmer boy."

She grabbed his hand as she exited the car, using it as support. They walked into the café together, and Lucas' eye's lit up. For sitting in the corner, sipping her triple shot espresso was Brooke Davis.

A/N: Eh? Reviews please! This is my first story and I'd love to hear constructive criticism, insults, compliments, whatever! Thanks!


	2. The Patron Saint Of Liars and Fakes

Brooke glanced up when the tinkle of the door bell rang and squealed.

"Lucas! Oh my gosh, I was _just_ about to think you were dead! What's taken you so long?" She put down her drink and trotted over to him.

"Nothing, babe, me and Haley were just reminiscing, and we sorta lost track of time. No worries though, I'm here now." He cuddled her and snuggled her, all to the gagging dismay of Haley.

"Hey, you guys? I don't think my customers want to throw up their breakfasts, especially after they already paid for them." She grabbed her apron off the hook, and tied it expertly. "So if you don't mind, please take you PDA elsewhere."

"Jeez, what crawled up your ass this morning? I can't help but love my Lucas! Come on, honey. If she doesn't want us here, we can go make out at my house." She laced her fingers with his and started to the door.

Lucas grinned, then looked at Haley. She was "chocking" at Brooke's scandalous remarks and cleaning the coffee pots. He let go of Brooke's hand and walked over to Haley.

"You don't have a problem with me leaving, do you Hales?"

He had the cutest concerned face that God could have created. How had she willed herself not to kiss those lips, touch those cheeks, gaze into those eyes..

"Haley? You in there?"

"Yea. Sorry, I was… thinking. Just go ahead and go. I'm sure I can make up an excuse for Karen. Go have fun, make out, get an STD… whatever you horny Tree Hill elites do these days."

He laughed. "Whatever you say, charmer girl. See you later, and stay out of trouble."

"Love you, go away." She turned back to cleaning the coffee pots.

"Gone!" He walked back to Brooke and re-laced their fingers. He kissed her quickly on the lips, and they walked out.

"Haley, was that my son walking out of this café with possibly the biggest slut in Tree Hill?" Karen had suddenly popped up behind her.

"Yes it was Ms. Scott. And that's probably the last time we ever saw him a virgin." She knew that this would freak Karen out, but she didn't care.

"Haley James! What kind of attitude is that? I mean, really, Lucas knows better than to jump into bed with the first girl he starts dating," Karen said. She sounded as if she was trying more to convince herself of this than Haley.

"Ok Karen, you know Lucas better than anyone else, right? So if he is your son, seeing as you raised him, I think he _does_ know better than that." Haley was sulking in her head. She knew that if she wanted Lucas, he chance had come and gone. Brooke had worked her magic on him, and he was totally different now.

A few hours later, after sweeping, moping, waxing the floor, she walked into Karen's office.

"Hey, Kare? Can I leave now? I have to tutor somebody and I'm supposed to meet him in 15 minutes at the dock."

"Sure, but I better not find out that you were doing the hanky panky with this kid. Who is he anyway?" Karen was acting like her mother. Again.

"No one you know Kare. I'll see you tomorrow," and with that, she walked out.

Haley got into her car, still thinking about Brooke and Lucas. Mr. and Mrs. Lucas Scott. Mrs. Haley Scott. The Scott Family. Lucas, Haley, two kids, a dog, a big house in the suburbs of Tree Hill… she could almost smell the freshly cut grass.

Haley continued driving until she got to the Scott's house. But it wasn't the Scott she knew and loved, it was the other Scott. The popular, lethal, and unfortunately, for Haley,

The impossible to resist Scott.

* * *

A/N: OK, I'm leaving for summer VayKay (lol) tomorrow, and I will try to update throughtout the summer. I'll probably be able to crank out a new chapter every 2 weeks? Sorry for the wait. Keep R & R ing.


	3. Yesterday's Feelings

Haley had never lied to Karen before, but she realized that if Karen did go to the dock, which she never did anyway, she wouldn't find Haley there. Haley knew that going to Nathan's house probably wasn't the best decision, considering that he and Lucas were the worst of enemies. Every time that she came to tutor Nathan, she ended up doing way more than teach him things. He ended up teaching her a lot more than she ever taught him.

As much as she wanted to stop coming here day after day, she couldn't resist the Scott charm. Their father, Dan, had passed it down to both Lucas and Nathan, and it always seemed to work on her.

Lucas was intelligent, thoughtful, and always had some sort of poem or quote that seemed to match every feeling she ever came to him with. Most of them involved him, she just had to disguise them with different names.

Nathan was cocky and full of himself, but always welcomed her with open arms. Haley needed that type of security, especially when she came to tutor him. The fun they had, especially when he first kissed her. They were surprisingly at the docks, and she was trying, unsuccessfully, to teach him logarithms.

He was eating a box of cracker jacks. Haley was waiting for him to finish so she could see the prize. When he ripped open the package, it was a rainbow colored bracelet. He slipped it on her wrist and said simply,

"Don't say I never gave you anything."

It started to rain shortly after, and they rode in his car to her house. When they pulled up to the driveway, he shut off the car and slid outside to let her out and so he could use his body as a shield to keep the water off of her. He let her use his hand as an anchor and she tried ineffectively to dodge the water from the storm drain.

Her jeans got completely soaked and he had to carry her inside the house to her room so she wouldn't get the carpet dirty.

After she had changed and made him a cup of extra chocolate hot chocolate, they began talking about his ex-girlfriend at the time, Peyton Sawyer.

"She was unproductive, overbearing, and a slut. She was always trying to get with Lucas, and that really pissed me off because Lucas is an ass. She was only trying to get with him to make me feel regretful since I was the one to break up with her, and she didn't even really like him, she only pretended to to make me feel bad," he said, clearly trying to make himself feel better.

"Nathan, is it obvious only to me that you still have feelings for her? Why don't you just cut your losses and try to get back with her?" Haley knew that this was breaking her heart more than anything could, but she liked the pain. It was like a drug, the more she did it, no matter how bad it hurt, she still kept shooting more into her arm for that extreme high it left her with.

"Haley, it is not that simple for two reasons. One, she most likely doesn't even want me anymore," he bit his lip when he said the last five words.

"You don't know that for sure… and what was the second?" she knew that if she went any farther that the drug would kill her faster than a speeding bullet.

"The second is, I'm in love with someone else… I'm in love with you Haley," he studied her face for reaction.

She was quiet for a moment, then, "Wh… what? How can you be in _love_ with me? You hardly know me!" Shock, complete and utter shock.

"Easily. You're smart, beautiful, you always know what to say, you understand me, I can talk to you for hours about myself and you still ask to hear more, and, I don't know, I guess you're pretty much… perfect."

"I… I can't deal with this right now. This is too much to handle… I mean, you're the richest guy in Tree Hill! No one has ever expressed feelings like that for me. Even at home, my family never says, "I love you," and I can't even begin to understand where I would start, where I would liking you stop and loving you begin…" she was pacing her room now, and her eyes were filled with worry and panic.

"Haley, I can't live without you. I need you." He walked slowly over to her and gently brought her gaze off the floor and in focus with his eyes.

"I love you, Haley James." His fingers were finding their way across her lower right cheek and jaw, and she had to admit, his warm touch sent shivers down her spine.

He lowered his face to hers and lightly kissed her on the lips, waiting for her to respond.

She pressed harder against his lips, glad to finally have someone's warmth soothe her lips the way they should always be. Her arms were wrapped around him, and his arms were running up and down her back.

She felt his mouth open slightly and felt the warm, wetness of his tongue. She opened her mouth and him entwine it with hers.

Whoever came up with the expression that fireworks explode when you find your first love had definitely never seen a kiss between Nathan and Haley.

Because after a couple more minutes they could have made the power go out in every city within a five-mile radius.

She loved every minute of it.

And so did he.

* * *

A/N: Perhaps my favorite chapter so far. I read it to my aunt and uncle and they laughed at me, but so what. Apparently some people can't recognize an epic of literature in the making. Hope you enjoyed it! R & R with suggestions on what you want to happen! I love fan input!

Thanks!


	4. The Real Thing

Haley stepped out of her car and walked to the rich Scott's door. She had barely finished ringing the doorbell when the door swung open. There stood Dan Scott, in his seething and demeaning stance, almost enough to scare her. Almost.

"Hello, Mr. Scott. Is Nathan here? We're supposed to go over the trig review for the finals next month." She was trying to sound as innocent as possible, even though she knew that no amount of sugary sweetness would ever get through to him.

"He's here Haley. Instead of going up to his room though, I'd prefer it if you two worked down in the dining room. It's not appropriate for a young lady and man to spend time in a bedroom with no parental supervision," Dan said. He finished with a smug look on his devilish face.

"_How would you know about appropriate, Dan? You got two teenage girls pregnant within six months of each other, in their bedrooms if I'm not mistaken?"_

How she wished she could mutter those words to him.

"Sure Mr. Scott. Whatever floats your boat!" She grinned and pushed past him to see Nathan already sitting at the dining table with his books spread in front of him. He seemed to be already working on a problem, his brow furrowed, and sweat developing on his forehead. It was pretty cute, if you were into that sorta thing.

"Hey Nate, how ya doing with that," she walked over to where he was sitting, "long division problem? Come on Nathan! We learned long-div in the third grade!" She shook her head in disbelief.

"No Hales, you learned in third grade because you are three years ahead in math, remember? I am in Pre-Trig, you are in Trig 3-4!"

Dan left the room.

Nathan continued, "Come on, let's go to the pier and work, I can't stay here with dad's drinking and my mom's bitchiness," he stood up and gathered his books, dropping them in his bag.

"But Dan said that we had to stay here…" She didn't want to do anything Dan said not to, for fear of what he could do or say to ruin Haley's life.

"Like I give a damn what he has to say. And if we're gonna make it out of here then we need to leave _now_." He reached for her hand and guided her out the door and to his Corvette. She got in and he drove like a maniac towards the pier.

What should have been a 15 minute drive turned into a 7 minute one, what with all the "saved up horse power" Nathan said needed to be used.

Everything has been normal since their first kiss. The kiss after all was over three months ago, so Haley didn't expect anything exciting to happen. She wasn't exactly Brooke, with her charm and charisma, who always had the perfect words and phrases to seduce the guy of the week. And she wasn't like Peyton with her sexy way of being sensitive and passionate in her own reserved way. All Haley wanted was to be a sort of mixture of both of them. She could have Brooke's hair, lips, figure, charm… and she could have Peyton's eyes, nose, sensitivity… it would be like the perfect girl. No guy would be able to resist!

She was in the middle of picturing herself in the life of Breyton when Nathan slammed his door and slammed her back into reality.

They got to the pier and picked out a table that was the closest to the water but had the least light. The sun was almost set, but according to Haley, the best part was yet to come. To her, the best part was when the sky turned purple, with streaks of blue and pink and a little ball of yellow in the center.

"It makes you think that there's something bigger out there, something more than…" she paused.

"Life? Love? Happiness?" He was watching the sunset too, finally seeing what she was seeing.

"All of those… it's like, you _know_ that there's compassion in this world, you know that everything is going to be alright in the end. No matter how bad it gets, no matter what kind of thing is going on to make you sad, it will all be OK.

"That's cute that you think like that," he almost whispered.

"What do you mean, "cute", don't you think that too?"

"I guess that I sort of do, but I mean, after you've been through all the shit I have, you start to think that there's not all good and sweet in the world. There's bad and worse," he sounded like he was getting angry.

"Nathan, not all the world is like your father." She knew that that was a pretty bitchy thing to say, but it was true, and he needed to hear it.

"Haley, not all the world is sugar and spice and everything nice, either. The point is everyone has some sort of mystery that they keep to themselves. You have to figure out if that one person you choose is the one you really want to spend you time figuring out how to solve that mystery."

"Oh yea? Well if you have all the answers, who am _I _supposed to figure out?" She was shaking from the wind and from the anticipation of whom he would say.

He paused then spoke slowly,

"Me."

* * *

Brooke sat on her best friend Peyton's bed painting her nails a combination of sex kitten pink and gothic angel black, a new creation made by Peyton that Brooke called P&B Swirl. Perhaps not that original, but hey, it was all she could thing off. It could stand for Peyton and Brooke, Pink and Black, Punk and Bitch… all things that had to do with P. Sawyer and B. Davis.

Peyton was on her computer, with her web cam on and her record player on full blast. Brooke wasn't exactly sure what she was listening to, but she assumed that it was some sort of indie/emo/alternative rock… something Peyton-ish.

Just then, Peyton's doorbell rang, and Brooke skipped down the stairs to the front door and used her palms to grip and open the door. Standing in his uniform gray hoodie, baggy jeans, and his ever-present headphones, was Lucas.

"Hey hon! What are you doing here?" She leaped up to kiss him, because although she had here biggest platform shoes on, he was still a good five or six inches taller than her. Oh well, less is more, right?

"Hey baby, I came to see if Haley was here?" he leaned down and kissed her back.

"Not here to see me?" She expertly applied a hurt look.

"It's kind of important, I need to talk to her. Is she here?" He looked like he was serious so she gave up her act.

"No, she's not. But what do you need to talk about? Is everything alright?" Curious and nosy as always, that was Brooke all right.

"I think it's alright, but I'm not sure. It's got to do with me and her, and possibly you. But that's all I'm going to say. Don't ask me anymore, I need to go. Goodbye, Brooke." He kissed the top of her head and rushed back to his truck.

She whispered, "I love you too, Lucas," and walked into the house.

* * *

A/N: I'm trying to make each chapter a little bit longer than the last, and this one was 1,234 words (I though that was lucky, so I decided to stop.) I was thinking that I wanted to do about 20 – 25 chapters. Is that too much or too little? Feedback would be much appreciated!

So I want to take a vote. I want to know the direction of the relationships that you want. You can pick two (2) of the following choices:

Lucas/Brooke

Lucas/Haley

Lucas/Peyton

Nathan/Brooke

Nathan/Haley

Nathan/Peyton

Now keep in mind, you can choose # 1 AND 2, because you know me by now (I love controversy), but I have to say that **right now** I want to make it Lucas/Haley and Nathan/Haley. This way it fits to description, but I can always change it.

When you vote please type as follows:

My Vote:

1: Your Choice

2: Your Choice

Please do _not_ type just the number, it takes longer for my brain to process (hee hee).

Thanks so much for all the reviews and your votes!


	5. What is and What Should Never Be

Lucas climbed back into his car and started the ignition. He didn't know what he was going to say to Haley, but he knew that he needed to talk to her. He was having trouble believing that he had some how developed feelings for her, though it wasn't impossible to understand. They had been friends since Kindergarten, spent every summer together since second grade, and hung out every day since they were eight. Naturally he would have feelings for her, right?

Wrong. He couldn't just forget about Brooke. She was his girlfriend. She was his everything, and yet there he was, running off to tell Haley that he liked her. Loved her?

"No Luke! You do _not_ love her. Haley is your **friend** and nothing else. She is with Nathan, you are with Brooke. It's not going to happen, so snap out of it," He yelled at himself and hoped that he could convince himself of that.

She wasn't _really_ with Nathan. At least, she wasn't yet. Everyone knew that it was only a matter of time before they got together, got married and had twenty kids, all the bullshit that came along with high school romance.

He had to think of something. He had to decide if he wanted to pursue his friend. Was it worth it to perhaps spill his guts to her, and have his heart broken? Or maybe having Haley admit that she loved him too? He wasn't sure. All he knew was that he needed to talk to her.

* * *

"I can't believe that he didn't want to talk to me. He just barged in, asked some questions and left! What kind of boyfriend is that? Sometimes I really worry about Lucas. Oh, but right now, I'm with my favorite whore in Tree Hill and we're going to party!" Brooke jumped up from her sitting position by Peyton's dresser and leaped onto her bed.

"Gee, thanks Davis. Glad to know I'm your favorite whore. However, why do you think he wanted to talk to Haley? You seem so upset, I figure that we could try to figure it all out," Peyton returned her attention to her computer.

"Maybe he is going to break up with me and wants to talk to one of my friends to do it for him!" Brooke bit her bottom lip and waited for Peyton's reassurance that it wasn't possible.

"Maybe… or maybe he and Haley have been seeing each other behind your back and they're going to run away to Florida because she's pregnant!" Peyton was sounding way too enthusiastic.

"Wow… you're supposed to comfort me, not make me want to kill myself!" She was hurt, as was obvious in her eyes and tone of voice.

"Sorry babe. Just trying to state the worst possible situations so as not to crush your esteem," she walked over to Brooke, "Don't worry Davis. You are way hotter and way sexier that Haley James. Any man would kill Haley for you." She gave Brooke a hug.

"I know. I guess I feel like he is too good for me. Like he is just using me for my status and is about to dump me for the first slut that he sees. I don't want to lose him." She pouted and pushed herself down into the covers.

"You're not going to lose him, Davis. He loves you and you love him, and for all you know, you could end up marrying him someday." At this, both girls paused and then burst out laughing.

"What a day that would be! Oh, but that would be great. Think of that, honeymoon sex? That would be pure heaven." She sighed and closed her eyes.

"Ew. Please stop. I do not want to think about my two best friends having honeymoon sex. That's incredibly cheesy and I am lactose intolerant," she replied and laughed at her own joke.

"Whatever. All I know is that I will someday end up as Mrs. Brooke Scott. That has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

"Yea, just make sure it's Lucas Scott and not Nathan Scott," she was yawning between each word.

"Ohhhkaaaaaaay." Yawn.

"Night, Davis."

"Night, Sawyer."

* * *

"You? Wh…What do you mean _you_?"

He had expected her to be shocked. He liked getting this reaction from girls. It made them look cuter than they already were. And this girl already had more than her share of cute.

"I want to be with you. I want you to feel the same way I feel about you." He reached for her hand and stroked it gently.

"And what _exactly_ do you feel for me? Just so I can be sure." She resisted his touch for a moment, and then gave in to the pressure that was building in her chest.

"I want you to be mine. And by mine I mean girlfriend. I want to hold you in my arms and feel your heart next to mine. I want to hold you hand and never let go. I want to kiss your lips and feel their warmth. I want to touch every part of you and watch the ecstasy spread over your face." With that he kissed her slowly at first, and then let his tongue guide its way into her delicate mouth.

She pulled back after a few moments and put her hands on his face.

"How long have you been feeling like this?" She lowered her gaze and held his hands.

"Since that night at TRIC last Halloween. You were there with Lucas and you were dressed as a Catholic school girl, and your skirt was just the right length… your top had just the right amount of snug, and you hair had the right amount of sexy. You were just overly beautiful that night and ever since then, you've had me hooked."

"I… I don't know what to say. All this… it's just too much for me to handle right now. I can't do this right now," she let go of his hands and stood up, "I have to go now. Goodbye, Nathan," and with that, she ran towards the end of the dock with tears in her eyes.

He was angry with himself. He shouldn't have told her so suddenly, or taken her off her guard. She was fragile, and he had broken her. Somehow though, he knew that in the end, she'd be his.

Haley was now running to her car, when she realized that she didn't have it. Nathan had driven her here. It was then that she remembered that she could call the one person in the world that she could have trust in forever.

"Lucas? Hey, it's me. Where are you? Listen, I'm sorry for the short notice, but can you come pick me up? I'm at the docks and I'm just having an overall bad day and I need to hang out with my favorite guy in Tree Hill." She needed him and wasn't afraid to tell him so.

"Sure Hales, what ever you need. I'll be there in a few minutes. Just hang tight and don't go with anyone who offers you candy," Lucas said.

"Thanks Luke. You're a doll!" She hung up the phone and crawled underneath the wooden planks of the dock so she could hide from Nathan. She couldn't believe that it she had to stoop to hiding from him. Up until fifteen minutes ago, she thought she really liked him, possibly loved him. Now everything was so complicated. She never expected him to return the feelings! That never happened to her. Guys never liked her back, it was always that the girl liked the guy and the guy didn't care.

Haley could hear Nathan's footsteps above her head, walking towards his car. She longed to jump out from her spot and into his arms, kissing those lips for all eternity. But she knew that she couldn't, because of what she said, shouldn't, because she knew that it would mean she gave in, and wouldn't, because she was too scared.

She could see him getting in his car and driving away. For a moment she thought she saw a look of pain on his face, almost like a resentful glare. Then he floored the gas and sped off into the gloomy Tree Hill night.

* * *

Brooke woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of sobs coming from the bathroom. She sat up in bed, realizing that she was at Peyton's house, and assumed that it was Peyton's sobs coming from behind the door. Brooke rubbed her eyes and sleepily walked to the door.

When she got closer she realized that it wasn't Peyton who was crying, but a more masculine cry. Peyton wasn't in bed though, so she assumed that she was in there with the mystery guy. She knew that she shouldn't, but she leaned down close to the door and listened to Peyton and a very familiar voice speaking to each other in whispers.

"It's okay, babe, she doesn't know what she's missing out on. She isn't sure of what she wants right now, and believe me, one she comes to her senses, she'll fall in love with you faster than you can run out and buy a few Trojans and a diamond ring." Classic Peyton. Always working in her quirky sense of humor when comforting someone.

"It's not that simple, Peyton. It's so obvious that she's infatuated with someone else. Trouble is, I can't figure out who it could be. It's probably Lucas. Every girl I know is obsessed with him. And seeing as they have history together, I wouldn't be surprised if it was him."

Brooke was pissed. Humph! How dare that prissy metro-sexual dare imply that Lucas was cheating on her! This would not do. She shoved open the door to see Peyton sitting on the sink and a guy on the edge of the tub.

"Listen you! Lucas would never cheat on me, all right? So why don't you get your sensitive ass out of here before I have to kick it out the door for you!"

The guy laughed and stood.

"Nathan!" Brooke was stunned.

"That's right, I, Nathan Scott, most popular basketball jock at THH, am threatened by Lucas." He faked a stunned look to match Brooke's.

"But… why? Who's the girl? Anyone I know? Peyton, why didn't you wake me up when he came?"

"I thought you'd want to sleep," replied Peyton.

"Ok… but answer me, Nate. Maybe I can help get her off Luke's back and into you bed!" Total Flirt Davis should have been her name.

"Don't tell anyone this or I'll tell the rest of Tree Hill about your boob job, Davis." Only he, Peyton, and Brooke knew about those.

"I won't just effing tell me or I'll…"

"Ha---" and at that moment, Brooke's cell phone rang, and the lights went out.

* * *

A/N: I hope you liked that chapter! It took me six days to write seeing as it was my longest so far and I wanted it to be extra good. I am still taking votes up until 6/20. So far, these are the results. As of 6/13, these are the results of the vote:

Nathan/Haley: 8

Lucas/Haley: 4

Nathan/Peyton: 2

Lucas/Peyton: 1

Nathan/Brooke: 0

Lucas/ Brooke: 5

If you want your favorite couple to win, don't forget to vote! All voting is ending on 6/20 at 11:59 PM California time. Thanks to everyone who has R&R(d) over the past four chapters, you guys are angels!

P.S. Only two votes per person, I think I forgot to mention that. The format is:

My Vote:

Your Choice

Your Choice


	6. A Beautiful Disaster

Lucas pulled into the beach parking lot and waited for Haley to come up to his car. As he waited, he reminisced about the first time he kissed her.

It must have been five or six years ago, they were in the 7th grade. They were lying in Haley's bed, and Lucas was extremely close to falling asleep.

"_I love you," he said, his eyes drooping shut._

_Haley shot up from her lying down position. "Really?"_

"_Yea… how can I not?" His eyes were fully open then._

_His arm found its way behind her back, and the other crossed her front. She laid back, and was now comfortably lying in his arms, and the thought made her want to scream from happiness. Her head leaned on his shoulder, and his head turned down. She looked up and the moonlight hit his face just enough to give it a magical glow. He pressed his lips gently against hers, and shifted to his side. _

_Her arms wrapped around his neck, and one hand worked its way down his back. He slipped his tongue into her welcoming mouth, and her tongue responded playfully. He pulled away after a few more seconds._

"_I love you, Haley." He laid back down._

"_I love you too, Lucas." And with that, she snuggled into his arms and fell into a deep sleep._

Lucas glanced down at his watch, and noticed that he had been there for fifteen minutes, and he had not seen Haley yet. He decided to go look for her.

"Haley? Are you out here?" He walked the length of the dock, and after he saw that she wasn't there, he began to panic. "Haley?" He was shouting now. "Haley, are you out here? Haley?" When she still didn't answer, he ran to his car and stretched for his phone dialing Haley's number. One ring… two rings… three rings… she wasn't answering, but then he heard the familiar sound of the recording that he and Haley had made.

Far off in the distance he could faintly make out their laughs, and he heard his voice saying, "Haley! Pick up you're phone! It could be me!" Then, "No, it couldn't, you're standing right next to me you dork!" He ran in the direction of the voices until they got extremely loud. He looked around and spotted a dark mound lying under the boat rental shack.

Lucas ran over to it, and realized that it was Haley.

"Haley! Oh my God, wake up! Haley! Haley, wake up!" He gently turned her over, and saw a deep gash on her forehead, blood leaking from he nose and mouth, and her right arm and leg were bent in such a way that he knew that they must be broken. Her eyes were turning black and blue, and she had cuts all up and down her arms and legs. She wasn't wearing a shirt, and her jeans were ripped and down to her ankles. Her bra and panties were blood stained, and there was a clear gel all over the top of her thighs.

"Jesus, Haley! What the hell happened to you? Who the fuck did this to you?" He picked up his phone and dialed 911.

"Hello, 911 dispatcher, what is your emergency?"

"I'm at the beach, and I was coming to pick up my friend, but I couldn't find her and then I found her, and she's lying under a boat shop unconscious, and she has all these cuts and I think she was raped and attacked! Please help me, send an ambulance fast!"

"I have sent word to an ambulance, and it should be there in a few minutes. Just relax and don't move the victim until the paramedics arrive, do you understand?"

"Yes, thank you!'' He hung up the phone and cradled her limp body in his arms. "It's going to be okay, Hales. I won't let anything more happen to you. I'm going to find the son of a bitch that did this to you and kill him. Don't worry, baby, just get better. Please don't die. I don't know what I'd do without you. You mean so much to me and I love you so much. Please… please Haley."

* * *

The lights switched back on in the bathroom after a few seconds, and Nathan's eyes squinted from the sudden flash of light. He saw Peyton sitting on the edge of the tub and Brooke text messaging on her cell phone.

"You guys, something's up with Lucas. He just messaged me and said to come to the hospital cause somebody's hurt… I'm waiting for him to respond." Brooke said. Peyton pulled herself out of the tub and sat next to Brooke to see her text message.

"Do you know who it is?" Nathan asked, hoping it was Dan.

Brooke quickly stood up and gasped. "Haley."

Peyton's mouth dropped open. "What? _Haley?_" She looked over at Nathan. "Are you alright Nate? Do you want to go see her?"

Brooke lifted on eyebrow. "Aha! So that was the Ha—before the lights turned out! You're in love with _Haley?_ Jesus, of all the thousands of girls in THH that want you, you chose Tutor Girl? Weird, but kind of cute… But back to the topic of the moment, do you want to go see her?"

"For being the two most popular girls in school, you are pretty dense, aren't you?" He grabbed his jacket and walked out the door.

* * *

Lucas was frantically calling everyone he knew to tell them about Haley. The paramedics had let him ride in the ambulance with them, but he was told to sit in the waiting room for further notice until the figured out what they needed to do to Haley. He knew that he had to call her parents, but they were in Africa on some sort of an archeological dig. Ever since Haley turned 17, they had basically left her on her own.

He finished making his calls and sat in one of the uncomfortable blue hospital chairs near the room where Haley was.

"Are you here for Haley?" A doctor had come up to Lucas.

"Yes, do you have any information?" He had certain desperation in his eyes that made the doctor not want to say what he had to say.

"Are you sure you want to know? It's pretty extensive."

"Yes, just tell me, please."

"Son, we took a few X-rays, a CAT scan, and did an overall inspection of Ms. James' body, and this is what we know. Her skull is fractured in two places, her face was so badly bruised that we are assuming that she was the victim of an attack, her right leg and arm are broken, and we did a DNA test and determined that she was raped. The gash on her forehead is infected, and all we can do right now is give her antibiotics and pain killers. We're wrapping up her arm and leg, and stitching up the cuts on her arms, legs, and forehead. I know that this is a lot to take in right now… but the good news is that she's waken up from her unconscious state, but she's a little out of it from the medication."

If only he had been there faster! If only he hadn't taken so long to find her. Good job, Lucas, you let your best friend almost die!

"Is she going to be alright?" He asked, holding back the tears that threatened to fall any minute.

"We have to keep her here until we're sure that her arm and leg will heal completely, that her skull can mend it self, and that the infection doesn't spread. To make a long story short, we need to keep her here for about three weeks, and by then, if all goes well, she should be 90-95 healed," the doctor finished.

"Thank you, doctor."

The doctor went back into Haley's room. Tears were freely running from Lucas' eyes. He didn't care if anyone saw him. He had a right to cry.

A few minutes later, Nathan ran into the Emergency room. Lucas looked up when he heard his voice, and saw him frantically speaking to the receptionist.

"Nathan!" Lucas ran over to him and hugged him.

"Hey Luke. Is Haley here already?" His eyes were tinged red, and it looked as if he'd been crying.

"Yea, she's in room 12. The doctor's supposed to come out and tell me when we can go see her. I'm so sorry Nathan…" Lucas trailed off.

"_You're_ sorry? This is my fault. I let her run off at the dock, and I didn't even go find her. It's my fault that she's in there right now, Lucas." Nathan sank down into a chair a held his head in his hands.

"It's nobody's fault, Nate," he said, ignoring the thoughts he had had a couple of minutes earlier, "The good thing is that the doctor said she'd be alright as long as she stays here for a few weeks."

"OK.. Thanks a lot, Luke."

In the following twenty minutes, Karen, Deb, Dan, Brooke, Peyton, Peyton's boyfriend Jake, Nathan's friend Tim, and Lucas' River Court buddies had showed up at the hospital.

The doctor came out and said that one person could go in to see her at a time. Nathan stood and said that Lucas should be able to go in first because he had arrived first. Lucas got up and went into her room.

The door squeaked open and then he was inside. He saw Haley lying in her bed, playing with the loose strings of her arm cast.

"Hales?"

She glanced up and saw him standing awkwardly in the doorway. "Lucas! I thought they'd never let anyone in here! Come here." He walked over to her and she hugged him with her left arm and sobbed into his shoulder. "I know it's only been a little while since I last talked to you, but I missed you so much!" He held onto her and they hugged for what seemed like an hour. She continued to cry and her tears produced bigger ones in his eyes as well.

"There's a lot of people out there to see you, Haley, I don't want to hog up all the time there is." He stood up from sitting on the bed and squeezed her hand. "I'll come back a little later, ok?"

"OK…" She settled back into the large stack of pillows and waited for the next person to come in.

Before leaving, remembering what made him late for Haley he said, "I love you, Haley," and kissed her. Then he walked out the door.

Dazed, she didn't even realize someone had walked in until they sat on the edge of her bed.

"Nathan…" He scooted closer to her, and kissed her.

"Haley, I'm sorry for earlier. I just wanted to be with you so badly, and no one's ever rejected me before… you're so different from all the other girls at school, I think that's what made me fall for you. And I have fallen for you. I didn't mean for it to happen, but it did, and there's nothing I can do about it. I love you, Haley." His speech sounded so serious that it made Haley burst out laughing.

"What the hell? That's not funny, I'm serious." His face was painted with confusion.

She continued to laugh. "Exactly! You're so serious!" She was full on convulsion mode at that point, and he was getting annoyed.

"Look, Haley, say something."

"I love you too, Nathan." And with that, she lifted herself up with her left hand and kissed him like there was no tomorrow.

After two weeks, Haley was looking extremely well. Her stitches had been removed, and the cuts were barely visible. Lucas and Nathan had equally come to visit her everyday, and her parents had returned and come to see her. She was watching The Price Is Right when Brooke walked in.

"Hey, Tutor Girl! How's Tutor Boy? Are you two still dating? Dish now or forever hold your peace," she handed Haley a Jamba Juice and sat in the chair next to the bed.

"We're good, Brooke. He's so sweet to me. He visits everyday and he brought me my CDs and recording machine, but he forgot that I can't use them because of my cast," she laughed and sipped the Caribbean Passion. "Brooke, you never cease to disappoint. I love Jamba Juice!"

"Well I didn't stop there, because I brought you the latest Juicy Couture from Paris! My mom and dad surprised me last weekend for an impromptu visit to my sister city, and I thought of you while passing the display window." She pulled out a lacy pink top that was too short to be a shirt and resembled a bra.

"Is that a corset?" Haley questioned, scared to know the answer.

"Of course it is! I thought you and tutor boy could use it in your next sexual experience!" She giggled.

"Whatever, Bee. I have to visit the little girl's room, so excuse me." Haley limped out of bed and walked towards the built in bathroom.

Brooke stood and looked around and noticed a folded piece of paper sitting on the nightstand. She picked it up and realized that looked like a song of some sort. It read:

he drowns in his dreams/ an exquisite extreme I know/ he's as damned as he seems/ more heaven than a heart could hold/ and if I tried to save him/ my whole world would cave in/ it just ain't right/ but it just ain't right/ oh and I don't know/ I don't know what he's after/ but he's so beautiful/ such a beautiful disaster/ and if I could hold on/ through the tears and the laughter/ would it be beautiful/ or just a beautiful disaster

'Intense', thought Brooke, but continued reading the song.

he's magic and myth/ as strong as what I believe/ a tragedy with/ more damage than a soul should see/ but do I try to change him/ so hard not to blame him/ hold on tight/ baby hold me tight/ oh and I don't know/ I don't know what he's after/ but he's so beautiful/ such a beautiful disaster/ and if I could hold on/ through the tears and the laughter/ would it be beautiful/ or just a beautiful disaster

'She's too into happy endings…' she thought, and continued.

I'm longing for love and the logical/ but he's only happy hysterical/ I'm searching for some kind of miracle/ waiting so long/ waiting so long/ he's soft to the touch/ but frayed at the ends he breaks/ he's never enough/ and he's still more than I can take/ oh and I don't know/ I don't know what he's after/ but he's so beautiful/ such a beautiful disaster/ and if I could hold on/ through the tears and the laughter/ would it be beautiful/ or just a beautiful disaster/ beautiful/ oh he's so beautiful/ he's beautiful

She heard the whoosh of the sink and quickly folded up the song and threw it back on the nightstand. Obviously she was way more in love with Nathan than Nathan was with her. Poor Haley. She had to tell her the truth.

Haley came out of the bathroom and sat back down on her bed. Brooke was gearing up to tell her the truth when the door opened and in walked Nathan.

* * *

A/N: This was the fastest and longest chapter I've ever written. It took me two days four hours to write 2,600 words. I was just getting so bored with this story, and I thought, No Liz! You cannot let your readers down! Ha. I'm such a drama queen.

But anyway, if any of you recognized that song, it's because I didn't make it up. It's "Beautiful Disaster" by Kelly Clarkson (KC 3). Just wanted to make that clear before anyone accuses me of stealing.

So it's 6/20 and I'm at my grandma's house on a laptop with no internet, so that means I won't be able to check the votes until the 22nd, but it doesn't matter because I'm not posting this chapter until the 22nd. So anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, because I wanted to create controversy (I love it!). Though I thought this chapter sucked, so feedback will be appreciated. Blah, maybe it's PMS :) >?


	7. You Found Me

A/N: The results of the votes are as follows: Nathan and Haley, and Lucas and Haley were tied for first, and Brooke and Lucas were in second. I will try to incorporate your votes into the story, thanks so much for all your feedback!

You may have noticed that I changed the chapter titles. I wanted the first 5 to be Luke and Peyton-esque. The remaining twelve (if I'm lucky) chapters, I have decided to title them as Kelly Clarkson songs… call me un-original, I don't care. But anyway, enjoy Chapter 9!

And I'd like to apologize for not being on for those 2 weeks. So I'm posting chapters 7, 8, and 9 together to make up for it!

* * *

Peyton sat at her artist's table and sketched herself. She had set up ten mirrors all around herself, just so she could catch every angle. She had just finished her nose when the doorbell startled her out of dream land. She stood up from her table and glided over to the door and opened it in a sweeping motion.

"Lucas? Come in." She sat on the coffee table and motioned for him to sit on the couch across from her. "So what's going on?"

"It's probably nothing, but… oh Peyton, can you keep a huge secret of mine?" His eyes washed over and a single tear fell from his eyes.

"Yes, oh my God, Luke, what happened?" She placed a hand on his shoulder and rubbed soothingly.

"It's… it's about Haley. She's fine, it's just," he paused, "I'm in love with her. And I know that that's pretty much illegal because I've known her since before I can remember, and she's practically my sister, but she's got me hooked. She's the first thing I think about when I wake up, all I think about all day, and the last think I think about before I got to sleep. She's perfect. I love the way she smiles, the way she laughs. She's so caring and adorable, and she's irresistible to me. But I can't tell her that because she's with Nathan, and this is the happiest I've ever seen her… and I just needed to tell someone, and you are the only person I can trust right now."

Peyton was quiet for a few moments, and then spoke. "Have you forgotten the one reason why little old Tree Hill has motels?"

He was confused. "What? Why?"

"You're dating Brooke Davis!"

* * *

Nathan walked into Haley's hospital room and watched as she tried to guess the puzzle on Wheel of Fortune. He noticed that Brooke was sitting next to her on the bed examining her nails, and without looking up, said,

"Electric Bill Gates." She smirked as the contestant on screen solved the puzzle the way she had.

Haley's mouth dropped open. "How did you do that? I'm terrible at 'Before and After'!"

"I'm just talented that way… oh, hey Nathan." She stood up and walked toward him. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Yea… hold on a sec." He went to Haley's side and kissed her. "How are you, Hales?"

"I'm good… you go on and talk to Brooke, I want to finish writing one of my new songs." She smiled and squeezed his hand.

"What's this one called?" He squeezed back and smiled.

'"You Found Me'. It's a really cute song, if I do say so myself." She laughed and pushed him to the door. "Go!"

"Ok, ok! Love you." One more kiss and out the door he went with Brooke following him.

"What the hell is your problem? Why are you playing her?" She crossed her arms and paced a circle around him.

"What are you _talking_ about? I love her!"

"I saw you and Peyton at the River Court. I saw you two making out, Nathan! How could you _do_ that to Haley?" Her voice was getting louder and louder with each syllable.

"Keep your voice down, damn it. I'll tell you why. Because Haley won't do anything past kissing so I need someone to fulfill my needs until she's ready. And seeing as you're my first choice but dating Lucas, I had to find someone that I knew could do it and do it well." His smug smile was sickening and made her want to throw-up.

"You pig! What is wrong with you that you would even think about doing that to one of my best friends? I mean, you are such a basta---"

And with that he swept her into his arms and kissed her.

* * *

Lucas walked the deserted streets of Tree Hill. He was wandering towards Haley's house, and after remembering that she wasn't there, headed over to Brooke's.

As he approached the house with the big red door, he started to think about his and Brooke's relationship. It meant a lot to him in the beginning; Brooke was his first 'triumph' if you will… so they had that bond.

He walked up to the door and rang the bell. He waited for her to open the door, and when she did, he was taken aback by how beautiful she was. Her brown hair was swept into a long braid and pulled to the side of her face. She was wearing little to no make-up, and her skin glowed in the moonlight. Her top was pink and tight, and showed all of her curves.

"Hey, Lucas, what are ya doing here?" She smiled nervously.

"Oh, I just wanted to see you… can I come in?"

"Yea…" She scooted aside to the wall to make room for him to get past her.

They walked into the great room and sat on the goose down couch.

"Listen, Luke, we need to talk about us. Where is this going?"

"What do you mean? Brooke; we're just 17, we're not getting married anytime soon, are we?"

"Lucas, Mr. English, the first rule in grammar is never to answer a question with a question. What I mean, however, is are we still dating? Because I feel like we're changed." Her face was blank, waiting for his response.

"Brooke, what are you trying to say? Are you breaking up with me?"

"Maybe; I don't know… I've got to tell you something about me. And Nathan. You see, today, I went to go see Haley, and while she was in the bathroom, I saw a little piece of paper on her nightstand. So I picked it up and it was this really sappy song about her changing him or something. And I couldn't let her feel that way when I knew the truth about Nathan. And then he walked in to her room, so I took him out side and confronted him about me seeing him and Peyton at the river court last week, kissing and holding hands, and he told me that he was sleeping, that's right _sleeping_, with her until Haley could do the same! And I was calling him a pig and stuff like that, and then he… _kissed_ me." She whispered 'kissed' like it was poisonous, then she sucked in breath after realizing that she had spoken her whole speech without breathing.

He was quiet for a few minutes and his eyes glistened with red. "Brooke, how could you do that to Haley?"

"Do what?" Haley? What about Haley? This was about Brooke and Lucas, not Little Ms. Perfect, wasn't it?

"First, invade her privacy by reading her song, second, by thinking that Nathan would cheat on her, although it was true, and trying to ruin her happiness by allowing Nathan to kiss you. You didn't exactly stop him, did you? In fact, I'll bet that you _wanted_ him to kiss you, didn't you?"

Gulp. "Maybe, a little."

"And I'll bet that _you_ kissed him _back_."

Bigger gulp. "Yes… but Luke…"

"And I'll risk my life on saying that you _wanted_ him, don't you?"

Biggest gulp. "And so what if I do! You want Haley, Lucas. Don't even play Mr. Innocent! I know that you want her! Peyton told me!" Tears were flowing now from both of their eyes.

"Brooke. This isn't going to work if we're both going to hide our true feelings from each other. So you like Nathan and I like Haley."

"Yea… so what are we going to do now?" She wiped her eyes with the back of her hands.

"I guess… I guess this is the end."

"Oh, God." She leaned over and hugged him, and sobbed into his shoulder. And at that moment, Haley's song was running through her head.

* * *

Nathan walked back into Haley's room and heard her singing what he assumed to be a line from her new song.

"Is this a dream? If it is, please don't wake me from this high. I'd become comfortably numb, until you opened up my eyes to what it's like when everything's right, I can't believe…" she was mumbling but it still sounded beautiful.

"Hey, Hales… that's a great song."

She jumped when he spoke; she was startled. "Um, hey! You weren't supposed to hear it yet!"

He smiled. "Well now that I have, can I hear the rest?"

She frowned. "Well… okay. But it's not totally finished, and you can't laugh, because I'll have to hurt you."

"I won't, I promise. Just sing it."

"Okay, you've already heard the first verse," she drew in a deep breath.

"Mhm. Sing."

"La la la, I can't believe. You found me when no one else was looking. How did you know just where I would be? Yeah you broke through all of my confusion, the ups and the downs, and you still didn't leave, I guess that you saw what nobody could see, you found me."

Her eyes closed and she flowed with the music.

"So, here we are, and that's pretty far when you think of where we've been. No going back, I'm fading out all that has faded me within. You're by my side, now everything's right, I can believe. You found me when no one else was looking. How did you know just where I would be? Yeah, you broke through all of my confusion, the ups and the downs and you still didn't leave, I guess that you saw what nobody could see, you found me, you found me, and I was hiding till you came along, and showed me where I belong."

They opened up again and she was piercing each word.

"You found me when no one else was looking. How did you know? How did you know? You found me when no one else was looking. How did you know just where I would be? Yeah you broke through all of my confusion, the ups and the downs and you still didn't leave, I guess that you saw what nobody could see, the good and the bad and the things in between, you found me." And she let out a deep breath.

"Haley, you need a record deal, I'm telling you. You've got the most gorgeous voice and you're so beautiful. You're song is saying a lot of things that people can relate to."

"Ha. Thanks, but no thanks. I can't sing in front of people."

"Well what do I look like?"

"That's not it. You're not 'people', you're my Nathan… 'people' would be critical, and hard to convince… I'd probably die of fright without ever singing on note."

"Whatever you say. But I really think you should. Hey, I have to go talk to your doctor to see when I can come pick you up; I'll be back in a few minutes. Love you." He stood and kissed her cheek then walked out the door.

Once he was outside, he touched the pocket of his red jacket and pulled out an envelope. He ripped it open and read the first paragraph out loud.

**To: Nathan Scott**

**From: The High Flyers Florida Division Admissions Office**

Nathan:

We are pleased to inform you that we have reviewed and accepted your application and scholarship form submitted by Coach Durham of the Tree Hill Ravens. The 2005 season starts as of June 25th, and we are expecting you to be at the orientation on the 24th at the Wyndham Resort in Palm Beach at 8:00 PM. If you do not attend, your scholarship will be terminated.

The letter went on to describe what would be expected of him, the things he needed to bring, and things like that. He knew that he should go because his future was depending on it, especially if he was hoping to get a basketball scholarship into college. He knew all that, but he also knew that he couldn't leave Haley.

* * *

Run, just keep running, you're almost there! Run!

Suddenly, Lucas surrounded Brooke. Thousands and thousands of Lucas's formed a circle around her and were laughing and pointing. She collapsed on the ground in tears, screaming as their laughs got louder. She looked up at them, and then Haley came up to the Lucas right in front of Brooke, touched his shoulder, smirked at Brooke, and grabbed Lucas into a kiss. She wrapped her legs around his waist and ripped off his shirt.

Brooke stood up and pushed past them and saw her house, the red door swung open, and she sprinted toward it. She wasn't moving!

"Help! Help me!" She screamed but her voice was swallowed up into the wind. Peyton came up behind her. She was speaking but Brooke couldn't hear her. Peyton soon became annoyed and left her, running into Haley and Lucas. They all laughed at Brooke and then walked into her house.

She was crying big fat tears. The wind was blowing her hair into knots; her skirt was billowing up into loops. Somebody touched her shoulder, and she spun around so quickly that she tripped. She looked up and it was Nathan. He lifted her up and brushed her hair out of her face. She touched his face, but her hand went right through his cheek. He stepped back and turned around, then ran to someone who Brooke couldn't identify. Then it dawned on her; it was Haley.

She was alone, all alone, while all the boys she loved, including her best friend were being seduced by the unfairly beautiful Haley James.

* * *

"Mr. Scott? Dr. Williams will see you now," the receptionist said.

"Thanks." He walked into the doctor's office and sat on the ugly blue chair in front of her desk.

"Hello, Nathan, how have you been?" She sat back in her chair and laced her fingers.

"Good so far. I wanted to know when I could take Haley home?"

"I was wondering when you'd ask. There's some good news and some bad news. The good news is that you can take her home anytime you'd like. The bad news is that she has to come back every week for the next month to make sure her medication is taking its effect. But other than that, she's doing exceptionally well; we didn't expect her to heal so quickly. You've got a great little fighter wife, Mr. Scott."

"She's not my wife, we're just dating… I mean, I'm only 17…"

"Oh, sorry. Well anyway, her medications will be available for her to pick up in about half an hour." She stood and shook his hand.

"Thank you, Dr. Williams, I don't know how I'll ever be able to thank you for saving her life."

"Don't even worry about it. She's made all of us doctors feel like our work is worthwhile. She's a sweet girl, Nathan."

"I know. Anyway, see you next week."

* * *

Peyton and Lucas sat at the edge of the last dock, the one with the least light. They sat in silence observing the black water swish against the wooden columns. Peyton was wearing her Backstreet Boys top with the blue mini shorts Brooke got her for her 13th birthday. Sure, the outfit was old, but it was vintage-esque. And it amazed her that she still fit in it! Lucas was decked out in, what else, his gray hoodie and baggy jeans.

"I can't believe Haley's coming home tomorrow. I can finally take her to that new music museum in Charleston. You can come too, you know." She smiled and leaned her head back, then lay down on the wooden planks and studied the stars.

"Thanks, but I don't know if I can hang out with Haley anymore. At least, not while she's with Nathan. It would be too hard for me." He propped himself up on an adjacent pole so he was across from her.

"Oh come on! Ok yea, Nathan's pretty tough competition, but you can still win. You've been friends with Haley since before dinosaurs existed, and you're not that bad to look at. Your sweet and funny and any girl would be lucky to be with you." She used her arms to pull herself up and sit cross-legged facing him.

"Thank you, P. Do you think I need to talk to her?"

"Definitely tell her how you feel. Find out how she feels, and if she feels the same, great. But if she doesn't you have to fold like a cheap hooker that got hit in the stomach by a drunk fat guy."

They laughed and looked back up at the stars.

* * *

Nathan had gone back to Haley's house to fix up her room, so Haley was left alone to watch yet _another_ game show. This time it was 'Who wants to be a Millionaire'. She was in the middle of a 50/50 when Brooke waltzed into her room with tear stains streaking her perfect complexion.

"Brooke! What's wrong?" She leaped up from her bed and gave Brooke a hug.

She shrugged away from Haley. "Don't touch me. I just wanted to let you know that you won, alright?"

"What did I do? What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb. You won over Nathan, Lucas, and Peyton. Are you happy now? You know, I befriended you when you were nothing and now look at you! Is that any way to repay me? You are selfish, a liar, cheater, and a bitch, Haley. I hope you know that." She slapped Haley across the face and ran out the door, her stilettos clinking across the linoleum floor.

Haley shuffled back to her bed and sobbed. What did she mean 'won over?' Weren't they all friends? Sure, she was dating Nathan, but he was still friends with her… and what did that have to do with Lucas and Peyton?

Speaking of the devil, Lucas walked into her room. "Hey, Hales. I brought you your all-time favorite food, quote unquote "Food of the Gods", Macaroni and Cheese--- what's wrong?"

She spoke with the sobs still taking over her voice. "Apparently I've won over you, Nathan, and Peyton, and I'm an ungrateful liar, cheater and a bitch!" Her sobs grew louder.

He pulled her into a hug. "Aw, Hales, who said that about you? I'll take care of it for you so don't even worry. Who said it?"

"Brooke." Lucas' mouth dropped open and hugged her tight again. "I'll take care of this, Haley."

* * *

A/N: Ok, as you may have noticed, I used another Kelly Clarkson in this chapter, and the title of the chapter is a KC song, as well. I'll probably continue doing this, but if anyone has any comments about it, let me know. 3200 words, I am exhausted! The next chapter will probably be out next week. Read + Review, it really helps! 


	8. Where Is Your Heart?

A/N: Wow, I just finished Ch. 7 yesterday, and I already feel like working on a new one. I really like the way the story is going, it's pretty fun to write; plus all the reviews are definitely exciting to read. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, and thanks to all that will review. You all are **doll faces! **

Oh, and by the way, Chapter 8 is supposed to be set a few months after Haley gets out of the hospital, around October.

**WARNING:** This chapter has sex in it; I thought that it would be appropriate. If you have problems with this, you should try to avoid that section.

* * *

Brooke sobbed into Peyton's shoulder, crying and telling her about the Haley incident.

"It's not _fair_, Peyton. Both Nathan and my ex _love_ her, and now she's taking you too! It's like I'm not good enough anymore. It's like the world is totally backwards, with all of the cutest guys falling in love with Tutor Geek. Remember when you had Nathan and I had Lucas? Now that's all screwed up because of her, and she's not ever _pretty_!" She sniffed in and wiped her soaking eyes.

"Brooke, I know that this is really tough to handle right now, but you can't be hating on Haley like that. I'm sure that she doesn't mean to have both of them crushing on her. It's not her fault that Lucas likes her." She rubbed Brooke's back comfortingly.

"Whatever, P. All I know is that I can't have another Brooke Davis wannabe actually _succeeding_ in becoming Brooke Davis."

* * *

Back at Haley's house, Lucas and Nathan were watching a Lakers vs. Cavaliers game while Haley took a shower. It was the 4rd period and the score was 91 to 88, Cavaliers advantage. They could hear her singing in the shower… _another_ song she had made up.

"I don't believe in the smile that you leave me with when you walk away and say goodbye. Well, I don't expect the world to inplode beneath me, but for God's sake, could you try? I know that you're true to me, you're always there, you say you care, I know that you want to be mine…"

"She's not that bad, you know. I think she'll be famous one day." Nathan said, continuing to watch the game.

Haley came out of the bathroom wearing a towel toga-style.

"Are you two staying for dinner? I'm making baked chicken! And we can eat the mac and cheese that Lucas made." She walked into her bedroom and left the door open a crack.

"Sure, I'll stay, but I have to leave right after. Mom's going to New Zealand with Andy this week, so I have to house-sit." Lucas returned his attention back to the TV.

"I can't stay, Hales. I have to go back to my apartment and fix one of the windows before it gets really cold. Have fun though." He also returned his attention to the TV, and at the same moment, he and Lucas jumped up and cheered on one of the purple and yellow players as the game ended. Nathan stood up and walked into Haley's room.

"I'll come back for some food later." All was quiet for a few minutes, with the TV announcer in the background, and then he walked back out of her room. "Bye, Lucas." Then he walked out of the house.

Lucas stood up and leaned up against the door of her room. "_Haley_!Tell me that you did not just make out with Nathan when I was a mere 25 feet away."

She giggled and came out of her room wearing her regular clothes. "You can not give me crap when I had to walk in on you and Brooke doing the nasty. _That_ was trauma." He laughed along with her.

He followed her into the kitchen. "Do you need help making dinner?"

"Sure, you can make the seasoning mix for the chicken. It's salt, pepper, thyme, and basil. Really simple. I know you can do it."

"Please, me? You are talking to the son of the best cook in Tree Hill, and the best friend of the _second_ best chef in Tree Hill High. I'm the first."

"Sure you are, keep telling yourself that."

They had fun making dinner. They prepared the chicken then threw it in the oven. Lucas re-heated the mac and cheese, and Haley tossed together a Caesar salad.

"Ya know, to some people, baked chicken, Caesar salad, and mac and cheese would be a disgusting combination. But I think that it's yummy!" She popped a lettuce leaf in her mouth. "Perfection! Set the table for me, will ya?"

He did, and they sat down. They began eating and after a few minutes, they started talking.

"So, Haley. I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but can you remember _anything_ about that night? I know that it was a few months back…" He spooned some mac and cheese into his mouth.

She placed her fork down carefully and folded her hands in her lap. "I remember being at the beach with Nathan. And then I left somewhere, and I remember watching him leave. And then I sat down waiting for you, and I heard someone's footsteps on the sand being right behind me, and I thought it was you. So I turned around, but it wasn't you. He sort of looked like you, he was tall with blond hair, and I think he was pretty cute. I couldn't really see his face, but he told me that I was beautiful, that he loved me and his voice was deep and rough, it would have been comforting if I wasn't scared out of my mind."

He looked down and ate a piece of chicken.

"But that's all I can really remember. I heard some things, and I remember being in excruciating pain. I remember wanting him to just kill me, because what he was doing was hurting so bad. I heard him muttering to himself, and I think he was, um, hurting me someplace else, because that was the worst pain I had ever felt in my life. And then I believe I passed out. I heard someone else coming, and I was praying that it wasn't the same guy, and I was so glad to hear your voice. You sounded so _sad_ and you were crying and I heard you begging me not to die, and I couldn't cry on the outside, but I was crying on the inside. I swore to myself right then and there that I would get better. I wasn't afraid of dying. I was afraid of never seeing you again."

She wiped her eyes with her napkin, and then shoved it down quickly, trying to hide the fact that she was crying. His face crumpled, his eyes were wet.

"I never said thank you, Lucas. You saved my life. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't be here. Thank you." She walked over to him and gave him a hug.

"I… I love you, Haley." He tilted his head up and kissed her. He shifted his weight and touched her face. Her fingers ran through his hair. He stood up and picked her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and continued kissing him. He shoved her up against the wall and unbuttoned her shirt. He kissed her neck and unhooked her bra. Her breasts welcomed him, and he gave attention to them.

He brought her into her bedroom, and gently laid her down on the bed. She sat up and ripped off his shirt, and kissed him some more, but then stopped.

"Lucas, um," he kissed her neck, her chest, her stomach, "I've never _done_ this before."

He stopped kissing her and looked up at her. "Seriously? I thought… Nathan's not exactly one to wait…"

"Well, he never asked me to. I'm a little, nervous… is that ok?" She bit her thumbnail uncomfortably.

He laughed. "Of course it is. Are you sure you want to do this?"

She inhaled deeply. "Mhm. I'm glad to do this with you. Of all the people that I could do this with, well, between you and the other person I could do this with, I'm glad it's you."

"Me too." She kissed his chest and traced her finger over the ripples in his stomach. She undid the clip in her hair and shook her head in a sexy demeanor. She laughed and kissed him once again, while his hands searched over the mounds of flesh on her chest.

He undid the button of her jeans and yanked them down her legs. All she was left wearing was her purple panties. He ran his thumb over her inner thighs then played with the strap of her panties. She pulled off his jeans and removed his boxers.

"Whoa."

He laughed and pulled down her panties. "Same to you."

She sat up and shoved him down. She trailed kisses all the way down his chest and abdomen, and then settled on his package. She worked on him until she got his eyes to roll back into his head.

"Who would have though Haley James could be that good at something that bad?"

"Shut up and enjoy it."

He flipped her on her back and did the same thing to her, making her arch her back and call out his name. Then he entered her. He pumped slowly at first, making sure not to hurt her. After she had relaxed, they moved their bodies in sync with each other. She climaxed, and soon after a furious mad dash to the finish line, he did too.

Afterwards, he held her in his arms, and she played with his fingers.

"You know, that wasn't very good..." She laughed as his eyebrows rose.

"How would you know if it was good or not?"

"Just joking, it was fun. I can't believe it's been 17 years and I've never done that before. That's what I've been missing? Let's do it again!"

"Oh my God." He laughed and rolled her over.

* * *

Nathan, Peyton and Brooke sat in Nathan's apartment. Brooke and Peyton were drinking White Zinfandel, and Nathan, a beer. By now, they were pretty wasted. Brooke was lying on her back, crying and telling her sob story about Haley taking everyone again, and this time Peyton was on Brooke's side. Nathan was holding the bottle in his hands, and threw it up against the wall.

"Shut the hell up, Brooke! She doesn't like Lucas. She _loves_ me! So shut up until you know your facts!" He held his head in his hands.

"Maybe you should keep a better eye on your girlfriend, Nathan. Where is she right now?" Brooke smirked.

"She's at her house with…" he paused, "Lucas."

"Aha! So she is with him! Nathan! This isn't fair! Why can't your slut of a "girlfriend" keep her hands off my ex?" She sat up.

"She's not a damn slut! And who are you to talk about what _slutty_ is? You're the Queen of the Sluts!" He got up and walked to the door. "And if you're going to talk about her like that, then you can leave!" He opened the door and ushered her out. He then sat on the couch next to Peyton.

"Tell me the truth. Do you think that this is at all possible?" He looked at her curiously.

Peyton was quiet for a few moments. "Possibly, for sure. Probably, perhaps. I'm not too positive, Nate. I agree with what Brooke was saying, about how you and Lucas both have feelings for her, but---"

Nathan interrupted, "What? How do you know that Lucas has feelings for her?"

Peyton realized, too late of course, that she had just spilled the beans for a second time. "Well, um, he… told me?"

Nathan's mouth was agape. "He told you that he had _feelings_ for my GIRLFRIEND?"

Shit. "Yes."

He got up and walked to the door. "We'll just see about that." Peyton heard his car door open, slam, the engine rev up, tires squeak, and she knew that he was off to Haley's house.

"Shit! What have I done?"

Meanwhile, at Haley's, Lucas had put his clothes back on after a strenuous "five times", as Haley put it. He was tired, sweaty, and all he wanted to do was sleep. He knew that Nathan would be coming back soon for his food, but he was in no hurry.

Haley came back into her room, after showering once again, wearing her oversize 'Karen's Café' tee. It had been Lucas' as a pre-teen, and now it was "just the right size to be a nightshirt for me", Haley's words.

"Hey, you. Are you spending the night?"

"Yea. My mom called, she said that her flight was cancelled so she's going to New Zealand tomorrow morning instead. So I'm all yours until 11:00 AM." He smiled and snuggled back against her pillows.

"Oh, lucky me." She climbed back onto her bed, and after kissing him a few times, stopped abruptly.

"Oh my God! You need to hide!" She did a giant leap off the bed and still landed on her feet, compliments of the 14 years of ballet, no doubt.

"What? What is it?" He got off the bed as well, clearly startled.

"Can't you hear the blaring 'Hives'? Or the squealing tires belonging to the only Corvette north of Charleston?" She ran to change into her jeans and tank top. "That's right, babe. Nathan's here. So get in my closet and hide!" At that moment, after she shoved him into the small dark space, a loud pounding at the front door made her jump.

"Do not talk." She smoothed her hair and glided to the door.

"Hey, Nathan. Whatcha doing here?" She smiled her signature innocent smile.

He stepped in past her and looked around. "Is Lucas here?" He walked into the kitchen and examined it.

"No, whatever gave you that idea?" She followed him cautiously.

"Something Brooke said made me wonder." Haley bit her lip.

"Wonder what?"

"If you were cheating with Lucas." He continued searching.

"WHAT? Nathan, why would I do that?" She turned him around so he faced her. "Nathan, he's not here." She scooped him into a hug, and he hugged back tightly.

"I'm sorry… it's just that Brooke said that you were with Lucas and that you actually wanted to _be_ with him… it made me very upset. I love you so much, and I don't want to lose you."

"I love you too." She kissed him.

All the while their mushy love stuff was going on, Lucas was sitting in the closet brooding. Oh sure, he wasn't here. How could she pretend that their sex was nothing? Did it mean nothing to her? How could she lie to Nathan when she was so obviously in love with him?

Nathan left after a while and Haley sat back on the couch holding her forehead. Lucas exited the closet and came into the living room ready for a battle.

"I'm not here? How could you hide me like that? Do I mean nothing to you now?" He stood waiting for her answer.

"Lucas, you know very well that I couldn't have said, 'Oh, he's in the closet, we just had amazing sex, but I can't tell you that because I love you', now how would that sound?" She crossed her arms.

"You still love him?"

"Of course I still love him! How could I not?"

"Screw you, Haley! What kind of stupid question was that? Unlike you, this _meant_ something to me. And maybe you're too shallow to believe in love at first sight, but I do. I've loved you since the moment I first saw you."

She let out a small sob. "So what?"

"So it's not going to be easy, it's going to be really hard. And we're going to have to work at this everyday, but I'm willing to because I want you. I want all of you, forever, you and me, everyday… will you do something for me? Please? Will you just picture your life for me? 30 years from now, 40 years from now? What's it look like? If it's with Nathan, then go. Go! I've lost you once, I think I can do it again, if I thought it's what you really wanted. But don't just take the easy way out."

"What easy way? There _is_ no easy way! No matter what I do, somebody gets hurt."

"Would you stop thinking about what everyone wants? Stop thinking about what I want! What he wants, what your parents want! What do _you_ want? What do you want?"

"It's not that simple!"

"What do you want?" Silence. "Goddamn it, what do you _want_?"

"I have to go." She walked towards the door, choked back one more fistful of tears, and went out the door.

He sat on her couch and sobbed. Maybe it wasn't right for guys to cry, but he didn't care who was watching. Suddenly, Haley walked back into the house and ran to her room, still sobbing. He could hear her closet doors opening, a loud thud, and a bunch of other sounds. A few minutes later she ran out, rolling two large suitcases.

"Goodbye, Lucas!"

* * *

Brooke and Peyton were at Karen's Café. They were enjoying a large cheese, pepperoni, and sausage pizza. Also, they were talking about Lucas. Well, Brooke was, anyway.

"P, it's not _fair_! Haley is such a backstabber! She steals my boyfriend, and she already had a perfectly good one to begin with, although he is being an ass today."

"For the love of _God_ Brooke, I don't care anymore! Who gives a crap about how you and Lucas were so good together? It's over, and you need to face that. And by the way, your Haley bashing makes you sound like a jealous bitch." She slid off the chair and left.

Brooke sat, stunned that Peyton could and would ever say that to her. She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she almost didn't notice the familiar brunette head running into the café. Haley opened the counter door and proceeded to enter Karen's office.

"Karen? It's Haley. I just wanted to say goodbye, and thanks. I'm going to New York, and I wouldn't have been able to without your help. Thanks again for getting me in touch with that producer up there. You're the best almost-mom I could ever ask for." She gave Karen a hug and ran back out the door to her car, which, Brooke noticed, was stuffed with suitcases.

Brooke got up and went over to Karen. "She's leaving?"

Karen looked up. "Yes, she's going up to New York to work on her singing career. I got her in with a producer up there, somebody named Chris Killer, or something like that… anyway, shouldn't you be getting home soon? It's after 10:00."

"Yea, thanks Karen. You're awesome."

Brooke ran all the way over to Nathan's because she didn't have a car on account that Peyton had driven her over. The entire 16 blocks that there was between the café and his house seemed like an eternity. She knew that she had to tell Nathan the truth, but she was extremely scared to. How would he take the news that his girlfriend had left him, his girlfriend of nearly a year? Especially from someone that he wasn't exactly happy with at the moment…

She walked up his driveway and ran the bell. His mother, Deb, opened it wearing what was obviously a Dolce & Gabbana work suit, clearly saying that she had just gotten home from her job as an attorney.

"Hello, Mrs. Scott. Is Nathan home? I really need to speak to him." She smiled and stood up straight.

Deb rubbed her eyes. "Whatever, Brooke. Just don't stay too long. I need to get up in four hours for my flight to Los Angeles."

"Sure, Mrs. Scott." Brooke pushed her way past her, into the foyer, up the stairs, and into Nathan's room.

"Hey, Nathan? Can we talk?" She gave an awkward grin and leaned up against his door jam.

He glanced up uncertainly, not sure if he should trust her. "Fine." He scooted over on his bed to make room for her to sit down. "What's up?" He produced and almost-smile.

She inhaled deeply, "You're not going to like what I'm telling you, but," pause, "Haley's gone."

His almost-smile faded. "What?"

"Yea, she went to New York to pursue her singing career… she just left 20 minutes ago, I saw her at Karen's. She had a lot of suitcases and she looked like she'd been crying. She's going to be working with some producer guy too… oh Nathan I'm so sorry." She comfortingly rubbed his back.

He shuddered away. "Don't touch me! You think you can just come in here and tell me that my girlfriend is gone, and you still want to be my friend? This is your fault for telling me all that shit! I went over there and confronted her about it!"

She put her arm on him again. "I know, but don't you think that ---"

"And you know what the funny part is? I only started dating her to mess with Lucas! And now she ended up ruining my life!"

"Nathan, I know you must feel horrible now…"

"YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING about me," but before he could spit out the last word he choked on a mouthful of tears. He collapsed on the bed and rolled into a little ball. Brooke instinctively took his head into her hands and held him tight.

"Sh… honey, it's going to be okay. It's going to be okay." She smoothed his hair as he sobbed hard into her neck.

"Brooke, it hurts," Nathan cried, "it hurts so bad. I didn't know anything could ever feel this bad."

I know, honey… I know… you're not alone. It's gonna hurt. But you're not alone."

He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Well, I guess I won't be needing this anymore." He reached in his shirt pocket and pulled out a black velvet ring box.

* * *

A/N: Whew! This chapter had been physically EXHAUSTING to write! So I did a little Kelly Clarkson. Go me. I took a little from The Notebook, (Please don't slap me with any plagiarism charges!) And a little from a OTH book I once read.

I think I will take a break before posting Chapter 9. I did my best to give you two great LONG chapters to make up for my recent absence from so I hope you enjoyed it! That was the longest 6,700 words I've ever written!

Read and review PLEASE! I was really unsure about these last two chapters, especially with that sex scene (sorry if it sucked, I'm only 14!) THAT was hard to write! LOL, I had to go by the last couple of stories I had read, they really helped me out. Especially 'Tainted' which is a Pirates of the Caribbean story. It's in my Favorite Stories list if you'd like to check it out.

Thank you to ALL of you for your cooperation and patience with me and my debut novel!


	9. Hear Me

Brooke and Mouth were sitting in a red convertible at a drive-in movie theatre. The stars were bright, and just the right chill was in the air that gave her the opportunity to wear her favorite pink shawl over her shoulders. Suddenly, Brooke slapped Mouth across the face and got out of the car. Mouth followed her, sat on a swing at the nearby playground and sang,

"Stranded at the drive in, branded of a fool, what will they say, Monday at school?"

Community theatre was something Brooke and Mouth both had agreed would take their minds off of their past heartbreaks. Brooke, with Lucas, and Mouth, with Erica Marsh, the ex-class president. Brooke had to beg Mouth, however, to be in Tree Hill's production of _Grease_, because he was convinced that he was not "hot" enough to be a bad boy romancer. That was, until Brooke said that she'd be playing the part of Mouth's romancee.

Who would have thought that naturally brunette "bad girl" Brooke was going to play a goodie-two-shoes Sandy? And Mouth as the all time stud Danny? It's a small world, after all!

It was funny that even after the year or so since she'd heard that "beautiful disaster" song, she'd still remember each and every word. Haley had been gone for two months. According to Karen, who had been keeping in touch with her, she was working on a record. Ha! Who in their sane minds would want to listen to Haley? Though, that wasn't true, because Brooke wanted to listen to Haley. That song that she had written was Brooke's anthem. Sort of. The part that got to her the most was the "And if I could hold on to the tears and the laughter…" that was what Brooke did when she was with Lucas. Cry and laugh. Oxymoron, anyone?

Lucas was a mess. And nobody new why. Nathan had been hanging out by himself. He was so sad about Haley that he had formed an invisible shield, if you will, against ever falling in love again. Peyton had gone to Florida with a boy she met at an artist's convention. So that left Brooke to be herself again. Plus, with Mouth to keep her company, she had everything she needed for a stellar Christmas vacation.

* * *

Peyton and her new boyfriend Jake Jagelski were vacationing in Florida. They had gone to every single artist show that they had in Miami and were now traveling to Palm Beach to see the Live Art expedition. She felt like he was the perfect person to do this kind of thing.

Maybe it was because she had fully given herself to him the night before. Sure, she had done it loads of times with Nathan, but that was just sex. With Jake, it was making love. It was passionate and it was sincere. With Nathan, it was a rush to that finish line, then get dressed and leave. With Jake, they had spent the rest of the night in each other's arms. Perhaps this was bound to end at the end of the year. Maybe she'd see him kissing someone else at New Years. But for now, she was happy. And all she knew was that happiness was better than pain any day.

* * *

"You gotta be out there. You gotta be somewhere. Wherever you are, I'm waiting. Cause there are these nights when I sing myself to sleep. And I'm hoping my dreams bring you close to me. Are you listening? Hear me, I'm crying out, I'm ready now. Turn my world upside down, find me. I'm lost inside the crowd, it's getting loud. I need you to see, I'm screaming for you to please hear me. Can you hear me?"

"Great job, Haley. Let's hear you finish singing the song, then we'll work on the rhythms." Haley's voice coach paged her through the microphone and headphones.

"I used to be scared of letting someone in. But it gets so lonely being on my own with no one to talk to, no one to hold me. I'm not always strong…oh I need you here. Are you listening? Hear me, I'm crying out, I'm ready now. Turn my world upside down, find me. I'm lost inside the crowd, it's getting loud. I need you to see, I'm screaming for you to please hear me. I'm restless and wild, I fall but I try, I need someone to understand. Can you hear me? I'm lost in my thoughts, and baby I've fought, for all that I've got, can you hear me? Hear me, I'm crying out, I'm ready now. Turn my world upside down, find me. I'm lost inside the crowd, it's getting loud. I need you to see, I'm screaming for you to please hear me. Hear me, hear me, hear me, can you hear me? Hear me, hear me, can you hear me? Hear me, hear me, hear me…" She faded out and took off her headphones.

Chris stepped into the recording box and gave her a hug. "Great job, Hales. But I think you need to work on the pitch and the melody. And definitely the timing. Plus, I think the lyrics need some work."

She pulled out of his hug and went to the door. "Sorry, Chris. First of all, this is _my_ song. That means I get to write the lyrics the way I want, sing them the way I want, and I get to use whatever melody or tune or pitch and timing I want. Second, the lyrics are true to life. It really happened to me. They are part of my life. So if you don't like them, then you don't like me. And third, don't ever call me Hales again. The nickname belongs to the people back in Tree Hill, also known as my friends." She walked out the door with him hot on her tail.

"Haley, look, I'm sorry. Listen, we can go back to my apartment and work on it together. No executives, no record dealers, just you an me." He grasped her hand, went back inside the room to tell of their new plans, and came back out.

She paused for a moment, recalling a distant memory. Then she buttoned up her coat and they set out into the chilly New York air. He took her guitar case for her, put his arm on her shoulder and pulled her close to warm her up further. They walked the nine blocks to his apartment briskly. When they finally made it up the twelve flights of stairs to his penthouse apartment, Haley set down her guitar case, that she had relieved Chris of carrying, and stepped out onto the balcony. The view of the night life of New York was breath taking.

"These people sure leave a lot of lights on." She said.

"Yea, that's about 1,000,000 energy wasters." He came out from behind and wrapped his arms around her. His chin nuzzled into he scalp.

"So, what are we working on tonight?"

"Oh, I don't know… you and me?" He turned her around and ran his finger along her jaw.

"What? You and me?"

"You heard me, Haley… I want you." He leaned forward and kissed her.

Her mind drifted back to a night several months ago…

"So it's not going to be easy, it's going to be really hard. And we're going to have to work at this everyday, but I'm willing to because I /want you. I want all of you, forever, you and me, everyday…" She snapped back into reality and pulled out of the kiss and his grasp.

"Chris, we can't… I have a boyfriend…" she bowed her head down.

"Haley… you're so beautiful… don't deny me of this… I love you." His voice was low and raspy. She rubbed her face up against his palm, then abruptly stopped.

"Wh… what?" She backed away slowly.

"You're beautiful… I love you." He walked toward her, as she took another step back.

She gasped and tripped on the bed while taking a few more steps back. "It was you!"

He half-smiled and followed her. He pinned her down on the bed and kissed her again, only this time more rough. "That's right Haley. You're not as naïve as I thought you were… it was me." He picked her up off the bed and threw her against the wall.

"But now that you know, you must cease to exist." He punched her left cheek and followed with the right. He kicked her in the stomach, and as she fell to the floor, writhing in pain, he spit in her hair. He threw a couple more punches, and Haley became limp. Her neck hung down, he eyes rolled back into her hair, and she moaned quietly.

She propped herself up slowly and leaned back against the wall. "Why? Why are you doing this?" Tears were pouring from her bloodshot eyes.

"Because I want to… and you need it to be a better person." Over the next hour he continued to hurt her. He punched her, kicked her, spat on her, and slapped her. He turned off the lights and forced her to sleep in the same bed as him. She looked at the digital clock which read 5:07. All she wanted to do was sleep, but she knew that the minute that he fell asleep, she needed to get out.

She waited until 5:30, then turned over and looked at him. His eyes were closed and his breathing even. She carefully slipped out of the bed and stepped into her flip-flops. She checked on him again, and he had flipped over onto his left side, facing the door. She decided to leave her guitar and just get out. She crept over to the door and checked on last time to see where he was. She slowly opened the door and turned around. The sheets were thrown back and his dark figure was missing.

She sucked up her fear and got out of the apartment. She shut the door quietly and ran to the stairs. She heard the door open and instinctively looked back. He was running after her wearing nothing but his boxer shorts. She decided to put to use the one useful thing that Lucas had taught her. She sat on the edge of the stairwell railing and slid down the 25-foot drop. She rounded the corner and continued to do the same for all 12 floors. It worked; he was still on the 4th floor when she was on the ground.

She ran out the main doors and ran down the street to hail a taxi. She got into one and got to her apartment. She sat on her bed and sobbed for what seemed like an eternity. She got up and went to her bathroom. When she came out, she saw that she had a message. She pressed the green button on her phone and sat on her recliner.

"Hey, Haley… it's me. Look, I just wanted to let you know that Nathan's having a birthday party next Saturday, and I know he'd really love it if you'd be there. He's been so sad since you left… this would really cheer him up." The voice paused. "Please come back Haley. We all really miss you… Tree Hill isn't the same without you. Please… I know that you're probably having loads of fun out there with your new hottie out there, but please… just think about Nathan. He loves you, and I know you love him. I know that now. He loves you. Hey, I have to go, but please, _please_ come back."

* * *

Brooke and Peyton were hanging blue and white streamers from TRIC's ceiling. They were each standing on two 25' extension ladders. The had formed the 'Hollywood' theme for Nathan's surprise party and decided that Hollywood has streamers (or so Brooke thought). The had almost finished the whole ceiling, which took two hours to down the complete thing. Brooke climbed down her ladder and took a sip of her Fiji water.

"Do you really need to drink Fiji when Arrowhead tastes exactly the same but for $3.00 cheaper?" Peyton hung the last of the streamers and slid down her ladder.

"There _is_ a difference, and that difference is that _my_ water is electrolyte enhanced and your water had bear pee in it." She took a long sip and placed the water down.

Deb and Karen were standing behind the club's bar. They were in charge of food and beverages. They looked extremely cute with their matching black flapper dresses they got from the Halloween store. The bar was draped with faux-satin and sprinkled with gold and silver confetti. There were exactly one thousand plastic champagne glasses sitting underneath the bar. The soda-fountain guns were fully loaded with sugar rich drinks. Brooke and Peyton were in charge of the bar and table decorations, and had decided to decorate the rest of the club along with the rest. They had borrowed 50 tables from the local wedding reception hall, for the 500 guests. The tables were decorated the same as the bar, but they had silver dinner plates, gold appetizer plates, black cloth napkins, and forks, knives, and spoons.

The girls had decided on a buffet bar, and the entire food train was set up along the back wall. The entire club was "dressed to the teeth" (Karen's words). The party started at 7:00, and at precisely 6:15, the girls set the party lights to dim and flash.

"You girls aren't going to party like that, are you?" Lucas had popped back inside after setting up the "red carpet" Brooke had begged for.

"No! We're now going to go upstairs and change, which we advise you do as well, paint splatter boy!" The girls ran up the back stairs to the "dressing room" they had set up from the weirdos that decided not to dress up. No one would be able to party without being _dressed_ for a party!

Brooke stepped out of her ratty jeans and top and into her floor-length red ball gown. Peyton took of her vintage rejects and put on her sea foam green knee-length party dress. The girls had different styles, but both looked beautiful.

15 minutes later, the girls descended back down the stairs. Each had their hair pinned back with dozens of butterfly clips protruding from every angle. When they got to the bottom, they noticed Lucas sitting on one of the bar stools talking to Karen. He had changed into a black tuxedo that was formal, but casual in a way.

"Well, don't you look _handsome_!" Peyton commented.

He turned around on the stool. "And you two look, um, beautiful." He stood up and walked over to them.

"Well don't sound _too_ convincing!" Brooke said. He took them by the arms and escorted them outside.

"Nice job, ladies. This place looks pretty good." He sat down on the middle of the three chairs outside, the one in front of the little podium Deb had found in her attic. Brooke sat to his left and Peyton to his right. Soon after the guests started to arrive. First to show up was Mouth and Erica Marsh. They had gotten back together during the Christmas break and now were making out every chance they got. He handed Peyton their invitations, which Brooke had said "everyone needed to bring to prevent any rejects from getting into the party." During the next 45 minutes, the rest of the guests walked the red carpet and up the stairs to the party.

"I can't believe that the entire 455 people we invited showed up! Now that just leaves you, Lucas, Nathan, Tim, and me! Oh, this is going to be so awesome! I love surprise parties! All that's left to do is when Nathan and Tim come we have to run back inside, and when they come in, we yell surprise and get ready to party!" Peyton finished. She was organizing the 455 envelopes into neat piles.

The girls went inside. Soon after, Lucas ran in saying that a black car had pulled up into the parking lot. He dimmed the lights and everyone went quiet. The door of the club opened…

Brooke's mouth dropped open. "What are _you_ doing here?"

* * *

Nathan and Tim stood in front of the river. The sun was setting and the sky was pink.

"Haley used to love it when the sky was like this. She said that it was like her own little paradise." Nathan stuffed his hands into his pockets.

Tim nudged him. "Man, you need to forget about her. There's other girls out there… ones that won't leave you for other guys. And their pretty too."

"I can't just forget about her. I love her, Tim. And if she's not going to come back, then I'm going to go get her." He sat up against a tree.

"Dude! She's just a girl, and you're only 18! 18 year olds in high school do not fall in love with 17 year olds in high school and want to marry them. They just don't. It doesn't happen that way. And anyway, she doesn't even love you anymore! She's over you, and you need to get over her! Snap out of it, buddy!"

"Tim! Do you not get it? There's more to life then just hooking up with girls! She _is_ the one for me. And I'm going to marry her. She will come back, Tim, have a little faith."

"Whatever. Hey, you wanna go to TRIC tonight? I heard that it's gentleman's night… meaning that there's lots and lots of the ladies…" He lifted up his eyebrows.

"Sure, Tim. Just don't bring any dollar bills. Last time you did, they almost kicked us out of that place." He stood up.

Tim made Nathan go back to his place and change into "more suitable clothes for partying with women". After 20 minutes they were ready. They each had on black dress pants and button down shirts.

"I look like a fruitcake." Nathan commented.

"Women _love _fruitcake!" Tim shouted from the bathroom.

They got into Tim's blue car and drove over to TRIC.

"I'm not sleeping with anybody, Tim." Nathan said. "As far as I'm concerned, I'm still dating Haley."

Tim sighed but kept driving. "Fine."

They arrived at TRIC and noticed the red carpet set up. "What the…?" Nathan started. They got out of the car and did that hair thing that every guy does when they get out of a car. Nathan turned around when he heard another car door slam. It was too dark to make out a face, but he knew that it was a girl. He shut his door and followed the girl. She was 20 feet ahead of him, but he and Tim still followed her. She opened the door and went inside. When the door opened, they heard the place go silent and one solitary person spit out,

"What are _you_ doing here?"

The two guys got to the top of the stairs and walked in. The entire club was dark and quiet. Everyone stood to face Nathan. He saw there were lots of tables with decorations and he saw a lot of people from his school. Brooke, Lucas and Peyton were standing in front, but they weren't looking at him. Instead, they were looking at the girl who had just walked in. He heard Lucas say something, but at the same time the rest of the crowd shouted,

"Surprise!"

"Haley?"

* * *

A/N: This chapter was a little bit shorter than I intended it to be… but I thought it was pretty good. I hope you all enjoyed these last 3 chapters! Ch. 10 will be out next week.

Again, I used Kelly Clarkson and if I need to put this, I will. I used a line from the movie _Grease_… I don't know if I needed to say that but I will just to be safe.

Read + Review!


	10. Addicted

Brooke, Peyton, and Lucas stood quietly for what seemed like forever. Then, Lucas walked forward and hugged her.

Her was Haley. She had come back. For real… it was almost unbelievable. She was really back… it wasn't just a dream. Her skin glowed, her hair shined. She looked like a totally different person, but at the same time, the same Haley that everybody remembered.

From the way back of the room someone shouted, "Who is that?" Another, "Why is everyone so quiet?" And another, "Is that her?"

Lucas held her in his arms while she sobbed into his neck. Brooke and Peyton could hear her muffled voice saying that she was sorry for everything. He was soothing her, stroking her hair, whispering words of comfort into her ear. And all the while, Nathan and Tim stood frozen at the door.

Brooke and Peyton quickly adjusted the lights and turned up the music. In a matter of moments, the guests had forgotten the commotion and began dancing and partying. Peyton herded Haley, Lucas, Brooke, Nathan and Tim behind one of the club's giant black curtains.

"Ok, so what's going on here? Why did you come back?" Peyton questioned.

Haley leaned up against the wall, drying her fresh tears. "I needed to. I missed everyone so much, and I needed to see you all."

Nathan was just staring at her, unable to comprehend what she had said. Was she really back? For good? And if she was going to stay, were they still together?

Tim laughed saying that Nathan's little wish came true. Peyton and Brooke looked at him like he was an idiot. Lucas put his arm around Haley and told Nathan that since his surprise party was going on, they might as well go back out and party. Tim and Peyton gladly ran out to dance, while Brooke, Nathan and Haley hung back. Lucas went to check on his mom and Deb.

"Brooke? Why did you call me and tell me about this party?" Haley asked.

"Because I saw how depressed Nathan was and I knew that you wouldn't want to miss this. Look, Haley… I'm sorry for what I said that day. It was a really rude thing to say… and I meant what I said in that message. You two really _do _love each other."

"It's okay, Brooke." Haley pulled Brooke into a hug. Brooke whispered, "I'll leave you alone with Nathan… I know you two can work it out." She gave Haley's hand a little squeeze and walked out into the party.

Nathan took Haley outside. He guided her past Tim's car in silence and they walked the mile or so to the beach, all in silence. They climbed up to the docks and sat at the end of the one with the least light.

She was starting to wonder what they were doing here when he finally spoke.

"I'm sorry, Haley."

She was quiet and in shock for a few moments. "You're sorry? Why would _you_ be sorry? It's my fault for leaving you."

"I'm sorry for leaving you that night. It's my fault that you were, um, attacked, and it's my fault that you left. If it wasn't for me coming in and thinking that you were unfaithful, you never would have left… so I'm sorry, Hales."

Haley swallowed her breath and folded her hands.

"I'm sorry, too, Nathan. I'm sorry for leaving and not saying anything. I'm sorry for not calling, and for waiting so long to come back. I should have never gotten on that train… I should have never believed in the lie that Chris made sound so real and possible. And most of all, I'm sorry for not loving you enough." She finished.

"Can I ask you why you decided that you needed to leave in the first place? Because I thought that you were happy here."

"I just didn't believe in what I had at the time. Everything I had was so new to me… you, the new popularity… my accident… it was all so different uniformity. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches everyday are fine by me. Everything you did for me was unreal, I wasn't used to love and touch and hugs and kisses… and that's what you gave me. But now---"

"Of course I gave you love… I _loved_ you. I still love you. I will continue to love you, even when you look like that one lady we saw in health class who had all those wrinkles and creepy eyes."

She laughed and continued, "But now, I know how to love. I know now that touching and kissing and hugging is okay to do. You see Nathan, my parents don't do kisses and hugs or 'I love you'. So when you did all these things, it was difficult for me to understand why you were doing it. And I know that it's okay for me to love you, and to want to be with you. Now all I need to know is if you want to be with me as well."

"Haley, you're a smart girl. Do the math. My love, plus your love equals… relationship?" He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. As soon as he did, she felt the tears start to pour from her eyes.

"You're too good to me, Nathan." She said.

"Hales, don't cry. What goes around come around. You've been an angel for me, and now it's time for me to be yours." He kissed the top of her head. They sat for a few more minutes and he convinced her to come back to the party with him, as his girlfriend.

They got back into his car and drove to the party. His hand was gently interlaced with hers. His thumb stroked her index finger and his other hand held onto the wheel.

As soon as they got back into the party, everyone watched them once again. Nathan had to laugh and what had happened to the party since they had left. He could see Tim without a shirt watching two girls dance. Brooke and Lucas were talking and supervising a Jell-O shot competition. Peyton was maintaining the music, bobbing her head up and down while Mouth and Erica watched in amazement.

Peyton noticed that the direction of most of her party-goers had shifted towards the door. She looked over and saw Nathan and Haley, then lifted up her portable microphone. Haley nodded and winked at her, which was the signal Peyton had told her to give if they got back together.

"Give it up, ladies and gentledudes for Nathan Scott and his recently restored girlfriend, Haley James!"

Brooke and Lucas looked up with interest and started the clapping. _Clapping_. Haley covered her face with embarrassment, while Nathan stood back and enjoyed his moment of fame.

The guests returned back to their dancing and/or Jell-O shots and left the couple to dance alone. Before they could even move five feet towards the floor, Brooke popped up with Lucas and Peyton in tow.

"So? Are you two…?" Brooke asked, a huge smile spreading across her face.

"Yes, nosy. We're back together." Haley said, and laughed.

"Awe, no engagement yet? Here's you $10, Sawyer." Brooke handed Peyton a bill and crossed her arms. Everyone laughed and then Peyton had to return to being DJ.

"Oh, I almost forgot to say! Haley, I need you to sing tonight." Peyton said nonchalantly.

Haley's mouth dropped open. "What! No, I _cannot_ sing. I will die of embarrassment before I even sing. I'm sorry, Peyton, but I can't."

"Oh, don't be such a drama queen, Tutor Girl! Just sing a couple songs and it'll be over with! Everyone will love your voice, I promise. And, I've got your guitar and a new keyboard, just for you!" Peyton got down on her knees and begged. "Please? Please, please, PLEASE? I'll do anything you want me to for the next YEAR if you just sing!"

Haley looked down at her. "You're pathetic, Peyton. Fine, I'll sing for this stupid party! But I will _not _enjoy it!" She stomped off with Peyton and Brooke following her talking about dresses and lighting.

Nathan and Lucas walked slowly after them, behind the bar and up the stairs to where the girls had went. They sat outside the dressing room door and waited for them to come out.

"I really hope it all works out this time. I love her so much, Luke." Nathan set his head back against the wall.

"I know you do, man. But actions speak louder than words. Don't say something if you're not going to follow through, especially with my best friend. Cause I'll have to hurt you, little brother."

Nathan laughed, and a few moments later, the door opened and out walked Brooke, Peyton, and Haley. Haley looked beautiful, to say the least. The two girls had pulled her hair back into a neat ponytail with her bangs side-swept onto her right cheek. They put her into a black and white striped halter dress, and did her makeup to make her eyes pop out. Her ruby red lips sparkled and she smelled like right after a rainstorm.

She smiled nervously and went straight to Nathan. He put his hands on her waist and she twisted a bit to shake her bangs.

"What do you think?" She asked and smiled a bigger smile.

He ran his hands up and down her sides and laughed. "I'm amazed that Brooke and Peyton are geniuses!"

"Oh shut up! You knew it all along!" Brooke tossed back, giggling. "Oh, and when you sing, Tutor Girl, make sure you sing that Beautiful Disaster one. It's my favorite."

Haley lifted her eyebrows. "How do you know about that song?"

"Through creative detective work!" Brooke and Peyton ran down the stairs laughing. Lucas smiled at her, gave her a hug, and followed the girls.

"You look so hot, Hales." Nathan said, and kissed her. They held the kiss for what seemed like an eternity.

"I'd forgotten what that felt like." Haley whispered.

They kissed for a while longer and then they heard Peyton announce that Haley would be singing. The crowd clapped pretty weakly and continued talking and laughing.

The two pulled apart. "I love you, Nathan."

"I love you too, babe, good luck." He gave her one last hug and quick kiss. He stayed at the top of the stairs as she descended gracefully. Towards the bottom, she almost tripped, but Lucas was at the bottom to catch her, just in case. Something Peyton or Brooke set up, probably.

She walked over to the stage and sat at the keyboard. She played a few chords and sang along to them to warm up her voice. Over the notes she could hear Brooke's drunk voice yelling, "Whoo! Tutor Girl! Sing it, Tutor Girl!" Haley blushed furiously and cleared her throat.

"Hey, everybody. Um, Peyton asked me to sing a set for you guys, so I hope you enjoy it. This first one is called Hear Me… I um, just wrote it a few days ago." She took a deep breath and played the first three notes. She started singing and when she reached the chorus, Peyton slipped in Haley's almost finished record and turned down the vocals, so all that was heard was the rest of the instruments.

After she finished the song, she spoke a little more about the next one. She sang the song You Found Me, and Where is Your Heart.

"Ok, I'm almost finished tonight, but one of my friends made a special request that I sing a song I wrote a few months ago when I was in the hospital… this is Beautiful Disaster."

The song went smoothly and just the way Brooke imagined that she would sing it. Brooke looked up at Nathan, who was looking at Haley with amazement in his eyes. He obviously had figured out that the song was about him, and was enjoying the fact that she had written such a wonderful song about him.

She finished her last note and the crowd erupted in cheers. Apparently everyone loved the songs, but no one knew that Haley James could sing. Brooke, Peyton, Nathan, and Lucas all ran onto the stage and gave her a hug. Deb and Karen announced that it was time to eat, and practically everybody raced to be the first in line for the buffet.

Brooke and Peyton ran to the front saying that since they threw the party they got to go first. They called for Lucas, Nathan, and Haley to come over as well. Lucas quickly followed, but Nathan and Haley took their time walking over.

"You did a great job, Haley. I'm really proud of you." He said, and gave her a sideways hug.

"Thanks…" She gave him a kiss and they walked to the front of the line.

"Took you long enough, lovebirds, now come on over here and eat before Tim gets it all." Brooke said, with Tim right behind her.

"Hey, no one can hog food from The Tim." Tim responded, in his usual idiot manner.

After everyone had gotten his or her food, they sat at their tables. Table one consisted of Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, Jake, Tim, Mouth (Erica had left), and two empty seats. The empty seats, Peyton explained, was a surprise for Haley.

Over the next twenty minutes, all that you could hear was voices talking, laughing, glasses clinking, forks being dropped, and all the like that you'd hear at a party. Peyton got up from the table and went to the door. She opened it, and some people walked in; although Haley couldn't tell who they were.

The two adults, Haley had established, walked over to their table, and her mouth dropped open.

"Mom? Dad! What are you guys doing here?" She jumped up from her seat and raced to give them hugs.

Her parents stepped back a little when she flung herself at them, a little shocked.

"Well, your friend Lucas called us and asked us to come to your boyfriend's party, and we thought that it would be a good idea to come."

Haley tried once again to give them a hug, and they awkwardly patted her on the back. She giggled nervously and smiled at her friends.

"Um, you guys, these are my parents, Lydia and Jim. Mom, Dad, you can sit here. Peyton saved these two seats for you guys." She smiled at her parents and sat back down next to Nathan and her mom. Nathan squeezed her hand.

"Are you alright?"

"Yea… I told you, I'm used to this by now. I just thought I'd try and do what you and I do… but I guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks." She half smiled and kissed his cheek. "But thanks for asking."

The party went on smoothly from there. Everyone had left by midnight, including Haley's parents. They said that they'd be swinging by the next day to visit before they left for the Bahamas.

The five friends sat on the stage. Haley leaned against Nathan, Brooke played with Peyton's hair, Lucas fiddled with his I-Pod.

"We have to clean this up, don't we?" Brooke asked, groaning.

"Yep… at least we had a good time though. It's not like the party sucked and now we have to clean up a bunch of crap… it was fun. And it was all under $500!" Peyton commented, still buzzed on her many Jell-O shots that she and Brooke had made.

"I have the worst headache! Oh, I'm gonna throw-up." Brooke stood up and ran to the bathrooms, with Peyton and Haley running after her, laughing.

Nathan and Lucas sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Are you and Brooke going out still?" Nathan questioned.

"No… we broke up a while ago." Lucas mumbled.

"Yeah… I guess that was my fault. I'm really sorry about that, Luke. I was a jackass back them. I can't believe I had the nerve to do that to you. Or to Haley. I'm… I'm sorry, Lucas." He rubbed his forehead.

"It's alright… it's all for the best. I'm sure I've done worse." Lucas replied.

Nathan brushed off his comment, but it left a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach. He walked over to the bathrooms and stood outside. He could hear the girls inside and wondered what it would be like to have had Lucas' life.

For one, he would have had a better family life. Even with only one parent, Lucas' mom was a way better parent than both his mom and dad combined. He wouldn't have his red corvette, or his home gym. He wouldn't have the basketball court set up in his backyard. He wouldn't have the wealth and popularity he got for wearing the clothes he wore, or the things he said. Haley would have been his best friend instead of girlfriend, he would have dated Brooke, cheated with Peyton, and shaved his head. Played at the River Court daily, gotten in a car accident with Keith, and had his heart broken more times than not.

Inside the bathroom, Brooke was leaning over a toilet with Haley and Peyton holding her hair back. She coughed and sat up.

"This sucks. Stupid Jell-O shots. I should have known never to drink anything made with discount liquor."

The girls laughed. "So, Brooke, are you and Lucas an item? Cause you looked pretty cozy over at the bar tonight." Haley questioned.

Brooke wiped her face. "No. I want to, but I don't think it's ever going to happen again. Ever since we broke up, I've been thinking about what it would have been like if we would have stayed together. By now, we'd have been pretty serious. Maybe even engaged! Oh God, never mind. I do not want to be married in high school. Anybody that gets married in high school is missing out."

"My mom and dad got married in high school!" Nathan called from outside.

The girls shrieked. "How long have you been listening to our conversation?"

"Since Brooke threw up her last Jell-O shot. Are you better now, Brooke?" Nathan asked.

"Yea…" The girls stepped out of the bathroom. "Here, Brooke." Peyton handed her a stick of gum.

"Thanks."

Lucas came over to the group. "Brooke, you and Nathan should probably sit this out. Me, Peyton, and Haley will finish the cleaning."

Nathan and Brooke spoke at the same time. "No, it's okay, I can clean too."

"No, you guys, Nathan this was your party. And Brooke, you're not feeling well." Haley said.

The two reluctantly agreed and sat on the stage.

"So are you still going to do it?" Brooke whispered.

"Yea, I'm planning on it for tomorrow, when we go out to dinner. They finally re-opened her favorite Italian restaurant."

"Cool. Do you need me for anything?"

"Sure. You and Lucas and Peyton could just act totally normal." He laughed. "Don't say anything about this at all. I'm going to tell Lucas and Peyton right before we leave tonight."

"Are you two going to live in your apartment since her parents left?"

"That's why her parents are coming over tomorrow. They're going to say that they're moving and that they need to sell the house. That's the truth, but after they leave, I'm going to take her out to dinner and do it. This way we can live together in our own apartment. Without any parents to bug us." He finished.

"Awesome. Nathan? I'd like to apologize for bitching you out that day at the hospital. It was pretty rude."

"No, Brooke, don't apologize. What you said made a difference. I stopped with Peyton. You made me see that if I kept doing what I was doing, then I'd lose Haley. I should be thanking you."

They continued talking for the next two hours, and then their friends were finished cleaning.

"Are you ready, Nathan?" Haley asked, yawning.

"Yes. We need to get you home. Go ahead and get into your car, I'll be down in a sec. I have to ask Lucas something."

"Ok. Just don't take to long; I'll probably fall asleep."

She went outside and Brooke clapped her hands excitedly.

"How can you be so energetic at two AM?" Peyton asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Nathan has to tell you two something!" She giggled and danced in a little circle.

"I'm um, proposing to Haley tomorrow night, you guys. And I need you not to say anything to her." He said.

"Oh my God! You're proposing to Haley!" Peyton screamed, and she ran over to Brooke. The two girls giggled and squealed, slapping their hands together the way girls do when they're excited.

"Be quiet! She'll hear you!" Nathan said, but had to laugh.

Lucas was quiet and whispered, "That's great, Nathan. Good luck."

"Thanks man. And ladies. So I'll call you with the news. Good or bad. Hopefully good." Nathan said.

"It better be good. You're taking one of my best whores!" Brooke shouted, obviously a little hysterical.

"Ok. I'll try my best." He said his goodbyes and got hysterical hugs from Peyton and Brooke. Lucas man-hugged him, and Nathan walked out the door.

He walked down to Haley's car and got in the driver's seat.

"Let's go back to my apartment, Hales."

She yawned and nodded her head. "Okay. I love you, Nathan."

"I love you too." He responded and drove back to his house.

"And that's the last time we ever saw them single-ish." Peyton commented.

Brooke half-heartedly agreed, and Lucas didn't say anything for the next ten minutes. Peyton caught on.

"You've got to be _kidding_ me."

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I wanted to make the last line funny, because in my mind Peyton is hilarious. Read + Review! Thank you to EVERYONE who has reviewed; you guys have no idea how much it helps. 


	11. Author's Note Will Be Deleted on 87

Dear Readers:

Sorry that I haven't updated for a while. The next update will probably be up on Sunday... I've been extremely busy. I have to finish a book by Sunday that I'm only 6 pages into (it's 240 pages)... Anyone want to comfort me about high school? LOL. So I'm sorry if anyone is waiting for Chapter 11, but it's only 5 more days! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, especially:

angelwriter2492- you were my first reviewer!

y4nk3e- you've been so helpful.

pinkpony- again, you're reviews are of great help to me.

jacqueline22393- you always have words of incouragement for me

No Platonic Love- you're reviews are to the point and result in big changes in my story.

Brittany56- so sweet and helpful!

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE! You are all so supportive of my work and my stubborn-ness, and my LOVE of controversy! Please review more, I need some more reviews! I need ideas and suggestions!

Love,  
sunkisedsurfer 


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